Munnar Church Retreat: Two More Priests Succumb To Covid-19, Five Others Critical

Two more Church priests who attended the annual retreat event in April at Munnar have succumbed to Covid-19 on Wednesday (12 May).

Father C Binokumar (39) and Father Y Devaprasad (59) died at CSI Medical College Hospital in Karakonam. Five of their colleagues are critical and on ventilator support.

Over 100 priests belonging to the Church of South India (CSI) have contracted Covid-19 after they attended an annual retreat from 13 to 17 April at CSI Christ Church in Munnar, a hill station in Kerala’s Idukki district.

On 5 May, police booked a case against 400-odd Church priests for allegedly flouting Covid-19 protocols by organising the religious retreat without permission, reports Hindustan Times.

The priests had also been warned of disciplinary action if they refrained from attending the retreat.

“The annual retreats of Central Kerala diocese and Kochi diocese were also scheduled last month and they were postponed due to a surge in Covid cases. But CSI South Kerala held the retreat secretly at Munnar without informing the government,” said a Joint Christian Council member.