Onam amid pandemic: COVID protocols in place this year

Onam, one of southern India’s biggest religious celebrations, has kicked off on August 12. The main celebration of the 10-day festival celebrated widely in Kerala, will start on August 21 with Thiruvonam. However, the festivities will be highly scaled down in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. No public observation of festivals or mass gatherings will be permitted in the state, which is already witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases, during Onam.

Here are COVID protocols and restrictions in place for Onam 2021 in Kerala.

Special lockdown in areas of Kerala

Special intensified stringent lockdown restrictions have been enforced from August 12 onwards in the Panchayats or urban wards in Kerala where the infection spread is critical and the Weekly Infection Population Ratio (WIPR) is above 8, reported PTI

No mass gatherings or collective celebration

The Kerala government on August 12 announced that no mass gathering or celebration will be allowed in the state as a part of the Onam 2021 celebration.

Sabarimala devotees restrictions

According to PTI, a maximum of 15,000 devotees per day would be permitted in the prestigious Sabarimala temple and virtual queue registration will continue for crowd management.

Virtual celebrations

Kerala Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas said that as part of the government’s new initiative, Kerala’s food, art, culture, and favourite tourist destinations would be showcased virtually with the help of visual media and other means.

Mask and social distancing

Whosoever is planning to visit beaches or tourist spots in small numbers will have to ensure that they wear mask and follow social distancing at all times.

A Kerala government official revealed that Kerala amounts to 46% of COVID-19 cases in the country. The state reported close to 80,000 coronavirus cases after the first dose of vaccination, while 40,000 people were reported infected after the second dose, the sources said