Giant Buddhist goddess in Japan gets face mask to pray for end of COVID-19

A drone picture shows a mask placed on a 57-metre-high statue of Buddhist goddess Kannon, to pray for the end of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic at Houkokuji Aizu Betsuin temple in Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan in this handout photo taken on June 15 2021. OISO ALL SUPPORT/Handout via REUTERS

(Reuters) - Workers scaled a giant statue of a Buddhist goddess in Japan on Tuesday to place a custom-made mask on her face, an act meant to be a prayer for the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

It took four workers three hours to carry the massive mask on ropes up the 57 m-high (187 ft) white statue of the Buddhist goddess Kannon - the Goddess of Mercy - at the Houkokuji Aizu Betsuin temple in Fukushima Prefecture.