Takeover of church in containment zone can be problematic: collector to HC

KOCHI: Ernakulam District Collector S Suhas on Monday informed the Kerala High Court that people -- including women, children and the elderly -- driven by religious fervour are likely to gather in large numbers, leading to a breach in social distancing norms and a superspread of the virus in the event of a forceful takeover of the Kothamangalam church located within a containment zone. The grave situation warrants extreme circumspection to avert a community spread in the area.

According to the collector, the intelligence wing has reported that there is every possibility of parishioners, along with other devotees, obstructing any forceful implementation of the order. That would defeat the very objective of the guidelines and the standard operating procedure issued by the state government to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection. The report further said the takeover of a church in Mullaringad in Idukki district had resulted in the assembly of 250-odd people belonging to the parish and the police had to remove them forcibly. The incident led to a superspread of Covid in the Mullaringad area in Vannappuram panchayat.

The church in question is located in ward number 17, which has been declared a containment zone, of the Kothamangalam municipality. The DMO reported that a total of 64 patients are under treatment for Covid in the Kothamangalam municipal area alone, Therefore, more precautions and care are necessary to avoid a superspread of the disease, the collector stated.