GEORGE TOWN: None of the 30,000 devotees who attended the Masi Magam Theppa Thirunal (Floating Chariot Festival) at the Sri Singamuga Kaliamman Temple in Teluk Bahang on March 8 is reported to have contracted Covid-19.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the news was conveyed to him by the state Health Department.
“They (the state health authorities) are closely monitoring the situation.
“Until now, there is no report of Covid-19 cases among the devotees in attendance,” he said today.
The Malaysian Hindu Sangam recently advised those who attended the festival to get tested for the coronavirus if they are showing symptoms of the disease.
Various quarters have questioned the staging of the large religious gathering, implying that the organisers had completely ignored the global pandemic.
The event took place over a week after the Ijtimak Tabligh assembly at the Sri Petaling mosque in Kuala Lumpur.
At least nine of the 15 Covid-19 deaths reported in the country are from the tabligh cluster.
Of the 1,518 positive cases of Covid-19 to date, 62 per cent are linked to the Sri Petaling gathering.
Temple committee chairman A. Kanapathy told the New Straits Times that they have not received any report of devotees or festival-goers showing symptoms related to Covid-19.
He explained that the festival is an annual event that they have been holding for many years without incident.