Sabarimala temple opens gates for devotees from today

The devotees wishing to visit the Sabarimala temple will be asked to provide a COVID-19 vaccination certificate of both doses or a negative RT-PCR report issued within 48 hours.

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New Delhi: Kerala’s Sabarimala temple reopened on Saturday (July 17) for the devotees after being closed due to high cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The shrine will keep its gates open for the devotees till July 21. 

Those wishing to visit the Sabarimala temple will be asked to provide a COVID-19 vaccination certificate of both doses or a negative RT-PCR report issued within 48 hours. The devotees will have to strictly adhere to COVID-19 safety protocol, officials said earlier. 

Moreover, people will need to book their slot on the online booking system and no more than 5,000 devotees will be allowed to enter the Sabarimala temple. The officials have to ensure people maintain social distance and wear masks while visiting the shrine. 

The Lord Ayyappa shrine in Sabarimala was closed for devotees in May this year due to the spiralling out-of-control coronavirus cases in the state. 

Meanwhile, Kerala logged 13,750 new COVID-19 cases and 130 deaths on Friday, pushing the total tally to 31,30,833 and the death toll to 15,155. There are 1,21,944 people currently under treatment in the state. 

(With agency inputs)