A shrine to “goddess corona” was erected by Indian villagers who are offering her prayers in the hope that divine intervention can make COVID-19 disappear.

Devotees in the village of Shuklapur, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, have been offering holy water, flowers and prayers at the bright yellow shrine where they have placed their idol of “Corona Mata”, since they erected it this week.

One villager, who identified herself as Sangeeta, said on Friday: “Maybe with her blessings the villagers, our village, and everyone else get some relief.”

The country was hit hard by a spike of COVID-19 cases in April and May but there are signs the worst could be over.

India reported 84,332 new infections on Saturday, the lowest daily tally in over 2 months, health ministry data revealed. The coronavirus has claimed 367,081 lives in the country, government data showed.