Coronavirus: Kerala priest arrested for conducting mass violating COVID-19 guidelines

Kochi: A Catholic priest P. Pauly was on Monday arrested for breaking the guidelines put out on account of COVID-19 by the district authorities, the police said.

A police official of the Chalakudy police station said that the priest has been arrested and will be given bail.

“It was for violating the guidelines that is in place. He will be given bail,” said the official requesting anonymity.

The incident occurred after the police came to know about a prayer session that took place at the Kudapuzha Nithyasahaya Matha Church, at Chalakudy, near here around 6.30am.

The police took the priest into custody after learning about the incident.

The police also asked the priest to clean his hands with sanitizer before taking him to the police station. The police are also planning to register cases against 100 people who attended the morning prayers.

The Kerala High Court on Monday decided to close till April 8, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. However, the court will open every Tuesday and Friday till then so as to enable filing of very urgent cases like habeas corpus and other urgent petitions. Kerala has witnessed the second highest number of coronavirus positive cases after Maharashtra.

The Ernakulam Medical College in Kalamassery is going to be transformed into a full-fledged coronavirus treatment centre. From now on, only the emergency Out Patient (OP) wing and dialysis unit will work at the hospital. Women and children undergoing treatment in the OP section at the hospital will be shifted to the nearest government health centre. The district is currently giving treatment for 12 COVID-19 patients. The district has 23 people in Isolation Wards and 3,961 in homes under surveillance.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has expressed his gratitude towards health workers and “saluted their valiant efforts” in checking the spread of coronavirus.

In a release on Sunday, he said while the whole world was “stunned by the unexpected scare of coronavirus”, it was the health workers who left their near and dear ones to save lives.

“Health workers, who care for us in the face of every disaster, are fighting across the world and struggling for the survival of humanity. It’s the continuous effort of doctors, nurses, lab/theatre technicians, attenders, cleaning staff, pharmacists, ambulance drivers, counsellors, health inspectors, ASHA workers and others that helped us to stay safe,” Vijayan said in a release.

He also praised the police, fire and safety, and the prison departments, and said the youth, along with Kudumbashree workers, students and others have shown the way to fight the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.