The report said that among the infected is Church of South India (CSI) South Kerala Bishop Father Dharmaraj Rasalam. Two priests who attended the retreat, Father Bijumon (52) and Rev Shine B Raj (43) died last week after contracting COVID-19. CSI officials declined to comment but reformist groups in the church confirmed it.
Chief Minister
Pinarayi Vijayan has termed the incident as "unfortunate" and said that he has directed district authorities to conduct an investigation. "When the situation is grave such an event should not have taken place," he added.
The retreat was held between April 13 and 17, a period when Kerala had reported a high positivity rate of 20 per cent. The CSI retreat is the latest religious event to hit the headlines for reckless behaviour during the pandemic.
Reports say that over 40 priests are being treated at the CSI Medical College Hospital in Karakoram near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. Hospital authorities have not commented.
H Dinesh, the Idukki district collector, said that permission was not sought from district authorities for the event. They are inquiring into the incident which was conducted discreetly and they will take strict action against the resort and organisers of the event.
Read more Also, church insiders said some young priests questioned the timing of the meet but they were threatened with disciplinary action by church authorities.
Despite the spike in COVID cases across India, the country has been witnessing several religious congregations like the Kumbh Mela held in Haridwar that left over 1,700 people infected with COVID. On Wednesday, hundreds of women gathered at the Baliyadev Temple in Sanand, Ahmedabad to do 'Jalabhishek' offer water to the Gods and bathe the temple in order to appease the Gods as the priests at the temple had said that the Gods were angry, that is why COVID happened. The crowd of women devotees had thrown all COVID norms out of the window.
