Even as all arrangements were made to open the famed Sri Kalahastheeswara temple in Srikalahasti town from Wednesday, the news of a temple priest testing positive shattered all hopes.
Though the other temples are already open, Srikalahasti had to wait for a couple of days more to let its red zones turn green. During a routine check-up of the 71 priests and employees ahead of the scheduled reopening, the reports of 15 were received on Tuesday, which revealed that one of the temple priests tested positive. The process was halted and the samples of the other priests and employees were kept pending. Devasthanam Executive Officer Chandrasekhar Reddy hurriedly closeted with the temple staff and announced to defer the temple opening to a further date.
The town attained notoriety after it turned a hotspot in the entire Chittoor district by witnessing a spike in COVID-19 cases in the initial days of the lockdown. Even on Tuesday, the town registered three positive cases.
