Coronavirus: Six foreigners sent back from Kerala festival

The festival ends on March 9 and is considered the largest gathering of women in a single site in the world.

A total of six foreigners were asked to leave from the Attukal Pongala festival site after a sixth patient was tested positive for COVID-19 coronavirus in Kerala, according to Kerala state media reports.
'Pongala' is a ten-day- long celebration, and the most important festival of Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram. The offering of Ponkala is a special temple practice in the southern part of Kerala. The festival ends on March 9 and is considered the largest gathering of women in a single site in the world.
The festival is attended by several hundred thousand women, and could not be cancelled since it was too late to issue an advisory on the same, according to Kerala State Health Minister KK Shailaja. State government has issued strict warnings to hotels to not allow foreigners to leave its premises towards the Pongala site. "Those who have returned from foreign countries in the last two months should offer Pongala at home," said Shailaja.
Attendees showing any kind of mild or severe flu symptoms should completely refrain themselves from visiting the festival site. Health Department sources also told the media that the list of foreigners residing in hotels and resorts in the capital have been drawn up, and have been instructed to stay away from the Pongala site. Visitors from China, Italy, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Nepal, and Malaysia have been barred from travelling the city to visit Pongala celebrations.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com

• India