Sabarimala Health department to open more Covid testing centres | 2021 cricket match schedule

Sabarimala Health department to open more Covid testing centres | 2021 cricket match schedule

Sabarimala Health department to open more Covid testing centres | 2021 cricket match schedule

December 4, 2020

Author 77baji

In increase to the current facilities available at Nilakkal and Pampa, the health department has decided to set up more Covid-19 testing centres at Chengannur, Pandalam, Erumeli and Tiruvalla, as the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple prepares to welcome more pilgrims for the Mandala-Makaravilakku season. The move to increase the number of testing centres at the same time comes in the rise of more than a dozen government employees over the past few days, including police staff and devaswom officers testing positive for the virus.

In addition to hospitals such as the Tiruvalla Believers Hospital, the new test centres would comprise authorized laboratories including the DDRC Laboratories and Microlab, sources said. At noon on Wednesday, the updated online booking platform became operational, and the new batch of pilgrims would arrive for darshan on Thursday.

Fifteen more individuals tested positive for the disease on the day, including the Sabarimala devaswom executive officer and other devaswom employees, three police staff and 10 Sabarimala Sanitation Society volunteers.

The Punyam Poonkavanam office, connected with the cleaning work of the temple's northern nada, was shut down after Covid was confirmed to be infected by two policemen. After the disinfection of the office, the office will reopen, and fresh police officers will be deployed immediately afterwards. The volunteers here have been instructed for two weeks to go into quarantine.

In a tweet, Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said online booking for additional coupons approved for darshan at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple began at 5 pm on Wednesday. The number of devotees on weekdays has recently been increased from the previous 1,000 to 2,000. As compared to the last 2,000, 3,000 individuals will be allowed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Once again, the daily test positivity rate (TPR) in the state crossed the 11%-mark. The TPR reached 11.08% on Wednesday, the second-highest of the week. 6,316 new cases and 5,924 retrievals were also identified during the day. Of the new cases, 5,539 were cases of contact.