Kochi, March 8: Amid the looming threat of the deadly coronavirus in Kerala, the state is set to celebrate the 10-day Attukal Pongala festival on Monday. Nearly three million women are set to gather at the Attukal temple in  Thiruvananthapuram- the capital city of the state. On Sunday, five new cases of COVID-19 were reported from Pathanamthitta district in the state, taking the number of positive cases to 40 in India. During the festival, over three million women are set to patriciate. The festival is believed to be the world’s largest congregation of women.

In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Attukal temple trust has been ordered to wipe railings with disinfectants every 30 minutes for the safety of the devotees.During the 10-day festivity, the women prepare a gruel made of rice, jaggery, coconut and ghee and offer it to the goddess of the temple. The ceremony was set up in Guinness Book of World Records on February 23, 1997, when 1.5 million women participated in Pongala. In 2019 Attukal Pongala was celebrated on February 20.

Kerala health minister KK Shailaja requested people that those who have fever or cold should not participate in Attukal Pongala. The HT report further adds that Shailaja also visited the temple to review the situation. While addressing a press conference, Shailaja said that any irresponsible behavior will be dealt with sternly. Meanwhile, Thiruvananthapuram district collector K Gopalakrishnan urged devotees from abroad to perform Pongala in their hotels to prevent the spread of the infection.

Giving details about the new positive cases of the deadly virus in Kerala, Shailaja said the patients are kept in isolation wards. Of the five infected persons, three recently returned from Italy while the other two had come into direct contact with them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 08, 2020 04:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).