As many as 50 persons associated with the Jagannath Temple in Puri have tested positive for Covid-19, informed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Monday. Of the new infected, 22 are servitors and their family members, 19 are workers of the shoe--stand and nine are staffs of the temple administration, said SJTA (Development) Administrator Ajay Kumar Jena.Though the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar is thought to be one of the factors in the significant spike in Covid cases across the country, the returnees from the mega religious event are yet to pose a threat in the pilgrim town Puri.
So far, 17 people have returned to Puri from the Kumbh Mela, of whom two have tested negative for Covid-19. The Covid test reports of 13 returnees are awaited and two persons are yet to undergo the test, Jena said. Meanwhile, a new standard operating procedure (SOP) for devotees visiting the Jagannath Temple was enforced from Monday. As per the revised SOP, Covid negative report is mandatory for the devotees from outside Odisha.
The devotees need to show Covid-19 negative certificate (RT PCR) of testing done within 96 hours prior to their visit or produce a report on the second dose of Covid vaccination.
Besides, the temple will remain closed on weekends for sanitisation as part of precautionary measures to prevent transmission of the virus.