‘Corona Devi’: Indian priests pray for mercy from COVID ‘goddess’

Two ‘Corona Devi’ idols set up in southern city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu as country battles a new infection surge.

Hindu priests at an Indian temple are saying daily prayers to two coronavirus goddesses in an effort to tame the pandemic as the country battles a new infection surge. Two “Corona Devi” idols have been set up in the southern city of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu state, badly hit in an outbreak that has killed 100,000 people nationwide in the past four weeks. India on Thursday posted 211,298 new coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, while deaths from COVID-19 rose by 3,847.