Kerala
Kerala church retreat: 4 priests die of Covid, 5 critical
Thiruvananthapuram/IBNS: Two more priests have died of Covid-19 while five others are critical after attending a five-day annual retreat event organised by the Church of South India (CSI) in April, a Hindustan Times report said, quoting a group of reformist members of the church.
The event was held in violation of the Covid-19 protocols issued by the government, the sources said, adding that the deaths had been caused by coronavirus but an official confirmation was not available.
The priests who died on Wednesday were Father C Binokumar (39) and Father Y Devaprasad (59), the HT report stated.
They died at CSI Medical College Hospital in Karakonam, where five of their colleagues were currently on ventilator support, the report added.
In the first week of May, two priests had died of Covid-19 while many others tested positive, bringing to light what was described as a “super spreader” event, organised at Munnar, a hill station in Kerala’s Idukki district, between April 13 and 17, the HT report stated.
Last year, at the start of the first Covid-19 wave, a congregation of the Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi's Nizamuddin was blamed for causing the rise in cases. This year, the congregation at Haridwar Kumbh Mela in April is also said to have caused the rapid spread of the deadly second wave.
On May 5, a case was registered against 400-odd priests, including CSI’s South Kerala Diocese Bishop, Father Dharmaraj Rasalam,for allegedly ignoring Covid-19 protocols. They were charged for organising the religious retreat without permission despite restrictions due to Covid-19.
The case under Section 269 of the IPC (unlawfully or negligently aiding in spreading an infection dangerous to life) and Kerala Epidemic Diseases Control Act after a senior revenue official discovered that nearly oximately 450 persons, majority of them priests attended the event.
The HT report said that a section within the church alleged that some priests were forced to attend the event. Controversy flared as those infected after the event were discreetly transferred to a medical college run by the church along the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border to cover up the infection spread.
However, the church asserts that all Covid-19 protocols were observed at the event and only 29 priests were infected.
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