Coronavirus pandemic took a toll on the famous 'Makaravilakku' prayers held on Thursday morning at Sabarimala in Kerala, as authorities had restricted the number of devotees at the hill shrine amid strict adherence to health protocols.

The state government had allowed only 5,000 devotees to pay obeisance at the temple -- compared with an estimated crowd of around 6 lakh in normal times -- and that too by following all COVID protocols, including RT-PCR tests.