COVID-19: No Entry Into Jagannath Temple, Other Religious Institutions Without Masks

Bhubaneswar: In the view of coronavirus outbreak, the Odisha government has directed all the religious institutions to strictly adhere to the preventive measures such as social distancing and others to contain the spread of the infection.

Chief Secretary of the state, Asit Tripathy issued a letter regarding the same to all the Collectors and other Endowment Commissioners.

The governing bodies of all the religious institutions have been directed to take immediate steps for protecting the pilgrims, priests, sevayats, and security personnel deployed at the temple.

Acting on the advisory, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) issued certain preventive measures for the staff at the temple and the visiting devotees to stay safe from the infection.

The devotees are trying to adhere to the preventive measures issued by the SJTA in the wake of the pandemic.

Some devotees used handkerchiefs and scarves to cover their faces before entering the temple as they couldn’t arrange face masks. Those without any covering were denied entry to the temple.

One of the devotees said, “Many shops said they have run out of face masks as well as hand sanitisers due to surge in demand on one hand and poor supply on the other.”