Faith is seen through both firmness in intention and flexibility in execution Gita 09.14
During a pandemic if temples are closed down to avoid infection does that indicate a lack of faith among the devoted possibly but not necessarily faith is seen both through firmness of intention and flexibility in execution the underlying mood of faith and devotion is rendering service to God Krishna service needs to be done in a way that is pleasing, productive not unproductive or counterproductive if certain situations make certain forms of devotion dangerous or impossible then we need to appreciate the multifacetedness of devotion and express it in some other way that is possible and serves the purpose the Bhagavad Gita 9.14 urges us to be determined in serving Krishna and it also urges us to not act in ways that agitate people so much that they become alienated from us 3.26 to integrate these two principles means that whatever be the situation we are firm and determined to serve our lord, at the same time considering the situation we are flexible about how we serve the lord, lets consider the example of lord Chaitanya and how he engaged his associates at that time Bengal was under the rule of a fanatical Muslim ruler so lord Chaitanya didn't instruct his devotees in Bengal to build temples but encouraged them to glorify the lord by congregating to chant the lord's names Delhi at that time was under a relatively congenial Muslim ruler and lord Chaitanya instructed his disciples to build temples there similarly in today's world if the pandemic makes us so discouraged and confused that we stop glorifying the lord entirely then that is a lack of faith but if we, in order to avoid getting infection or spreading infection, adapt and have the glorification of the lord continued through appropriate means say digitally then that flexibility in execution is also a sign of faith by thus refusing to stereotype faith or reduce it to one particular form we can practice devotion that is in a way that is possible in all kinds of situations Hare Krishna.