As reported by the Hindustan Times on 6 May 2021, the Church of South India (CSI) conducted a religious retreat in April in the hill town of Munnar in Idukki District, Kerala State. There were about 450 participants taking part, spread out over 13-17 April 2021, the majority of them priests, according to reformist groups in the church (Hindustan Times, 7 May 2021). The retreat is said to have flouted pandemic protocol while being held at a time when Covid-19 restrictions were in place and Kerala was seeing high infection rates. Around 400 priests have been booked by the police for "unlawful gathering" after the death of two priests, with around a 100 more participants testing positive for Covid-19. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said: "Such an event should not have taken place". World Watch Research analyst Rolf Zeegers comments: "The CSI retreat is the latest religious event to hit the headlines for recklessness during the pandemic. Of course the size of CSI retreat can hardly be compared with the Hindu festival, Kumbh Mela, which was held 1-30 April 2021, where millions of people gathered ignoring the pandemic guidelines. But it must be admitted that CSI"s decision to go ahead with the retreat in Kerala was not wise. Indian media have jumped on the incident and Christians have been put in a very negative light."