Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today informed that a detailed strategy for opening up religious places and places of worship will be prepared only after the Centre Government brings out its guidelines on the same. Even though the centre has announced that places of worship can open from June 08, they have not yet issued any guidelines regarding it. The Chief Minister today held a video conference meeting with the spiritual heads of different religions and leaders of various religious organisations and institutions. Discussions were held separately with Hindus, Christians and Muslims.

Briefing about the meeting, the CM said, “The government has banned the gathering of people following the outbreak of Covid 19. These include gatherings that are part of political and social programmes, worship services at religious places, and festivals related to it. We know that large crowds must be avoided to prevent the spread of disease. As we are exiting the lockdown, we need a clear strategy on opening these places of worship without large gathering. All of them agreed with the government’s stance that the restoration of normalcy in places of worship would lead to a large crowd and in the present situation, it would increase the spread of the disease. The religious leaders are of the opinion that all precautions should be taken, including limiting the number of believers who visit these places.”

Senior citizens, children and the sick should avoid visiting the religious places as they are more susceptible to infection and if infected, it’s difficult to treat them. “In today’s meeting, the religious leaders have put forth a number of practical suggestions to prevent the spread of disease in places of worship. These proposals will be presented before the Centre. The state government will take a final decision in this regard after the Centre issues the guidelines in this regard,” he added.

The Chief Minister also thanked these leaders for their continued cooperation during the extended lockdown period.