Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to relax the cap on the number of people allowed into places of worship at a time from five to 20 with COVID-19 protocols.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, an official release said.

While allowing reopening of temples and other places of worship earlier, the state government had said only a maximum of five devotees would be allowed at a time.

"When special rituals are being held in temples, the number can be increased up to 40 depending on the facilities available. Similarly, the mosques and churches can allow up to 40 people depending up on the size for Fridays prayers and Sunday mass respectively," it said.

For the monthly rituals at the famous Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, up to 250 devotees can be allowed while strictly following COVID-19 protocols.

The religious places have been re-opened since June after being closed for devotees from March 24 when the nation-wide COVID-19 lockdown was implemented.