'It doesn't make sense,' says Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council over COVID restrictions in religious places

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) on Friday criticised the COVID restrictions imposed in religious places by the State Government saying that "it does not make any sense."

Issuing a statement criticising the prevalent COVID restrictions due to the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, KCBC termed the imposition of restrictions on Sundays "detrimental to the religious rights of Christian denominations" and suggested that the state government should bring in restrictions respecting the religious rights.

"Restrictions not imposed on other days of the week, but only on Sundays, are detrimental to the religious rights of Christian denominations. Therefore, the government should bring in COVID restrictions respecting the religious rights of the believer's community," the statement said.

The statement further said that the government should reconsider its decision to impose restrictions on religious places as they strictly adhere to the COVID protocols.

"In the context of rising COVID cases, the Kerala government's strict regulation that devotees should only attend worship at religious places online does not make sense. While programs are allowed with restrictions in many other sectors, the imposition of such a strict restriction on religious places which are strictly adhered to the COVID regulations should be reconsidered," the statement added.

Meanwhile, Kerala reported 54,537 new COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths in the last 24 hours said the health department on Friday.

( With inputs from ANI )