‘No mask, No darshan’ policy imposed in Shirdi's Sai Baba Temple amid Covid scare

In light of the government action, the state government has issued Covid-19 guidelines for devotees visiting the Sai Baba temple in Maharashtra's Shirdi. According to state revenue minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, masks will be made mandatory for devotees visiting the Sai Temple in Shirdi. The Maharashtra government reviewed the situation and asked people not to worry but to ensure precautions including social/physical distancing. Patil also instructed the management to provide free masks to the visiting devotees.  Meanwhile, active coronavirus cases in India crossed the 4,000 crore mark since the country reported a total of 4,054 active COVID-19 cases as of Monday, with 312 active infections reported in the last 24 hours. 

Of these 312 cases, the highest number of cases came from Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Kerala recorded 128 active coronavirus cases whereas Karnataka reported a total of 73 active COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours. Maharashtra, on the other hand, reported 50 active infections in the same period of time, as per Union Health Ministry's data. Other states that reported COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours are Rajasthan (11), Andhra Pradesh (5), Tamil Nadu (9), Telangana (8), Uttar Pradesh (7), West Bengal (2), Delhi (7), Madhya Pradesh (2), Haryana (2), Gujarat (3), Goa (5), Chandigarh (1) and Bihar (1).Maharashtra's Thane logged 5 cases of the JN.1 sub-variant of Omicron out of the 20 samples tested since November 30. Those infected with the variant include a woman. Thane has 28 active coronavirus cases at present. While two are being treated at hospitals, the rest are recovering at their homes, according to an official.