Coronavirus: Hare Krishna temple shut after positive test result Published duration 6 March Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic

image copyright Geograph/Darrin Antrobus image caption A member of the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple congregation has tested positive for COVID-19

A temple at the UK home of the Hare Krishna movement has been closed after a member of the congregation tested positive for coronavirus.

The Bhaktivedanta Manor temple, near Watford, will be shut until further notice as a "precautionary measure".

On its website , managing director Gauri das said the person who tested positive had not been to the temple but "others have been in contact with them".

He added that the temple would now be deep cleaned.

The clean at the Hertfordshire spiritual retreat may take anything between 24 to 48 hours and all planned events at the temple from Friday until Monday 9 March - including Gaura Purnima festivities - have been cancelled.

The 18th Century mock-Tudor mansion in Aldenham was donated to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) by the late Beatle, George Harrison.

It hosts Janmashtami, the largest Hindu festival in Europe, which marks the birth of Krishna.