Japan's Giant Buddhist goddess gets 35kg face mask as people pray for end of COVID-19

Workers in Japan scaled a 187 feet tall statue of a Buddhist Goddess to place a custom made mask on her face in an act that is supposed to be a prayer to end the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. While the hollow statue already had a spiral stairway to climb up to the Goddess’ shoulders, all the four workers used special ropes to reach her face and place the 77-pound heavy face-covering atop it. The whole task was completed in three hours with footages of it being recorded by a drone, according to Japan Times. 

About the statue 

The statue is that of Buddhist Goddess Kannon or Kuan Yin who is considered a Goddess of Mercy and physical embodiments of compassion. The goddess is worshipped in times of despair and fear, like during the current coronavirus contagion. The gigantic statue is located at the Houkokuji Aizu Betsuin Temple in Fukushima prefecture.

According to the temple manager Takaomi Horigane, it was the workers who came up with the idea of the mask. They now plan to keep the mask on till the infection rate in the country comes under control. The Asian country is currently facing its fourth wave of COVID infection and has reported over 777,643 cases, according to the latest tally by Worldometers. Out of the total people who contracted the infection more than 14,187 have lost their lives while 736,941 have recovered from the infection. 

Regardless of a slow vaccination drive, triggered by vaccine hesitancy, the country is all set to hold Olympics in the Tokyo next month. In the most recent development, it was reported that the country is likely to allow up to 10,000 people to attend sports events ahead of the Olympics. The Japanese government is considering setting a cap of 10,000 spectators at the venues of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to control the spread of COVID-19. The final decision over it will be made after discussions with the games organizing committee, Tokyo metropolitan officials, and the international Olympic and Paralympic committees.

Image: Chandan2778/twitter