No State-Wide Lockdown in Kerala For Now, Says Pinarayi Vijayan After All-Party Meet on COVID-19
After an all-party meeting, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said no immediate state-wide lockdown will be imposed.
Thiruvananthapuram, July 24: After an all-party meeting held to discuss the coronavirus or COVID-19 situation in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said no immediate state-wide lockdown will be imposed. Pinarayi Vijayan had on Wednesday hinted at a fresh state-wide lockdown in Kerala in view of the consistent spike in coronavirus cases. However, on Friday, Vijayan said most parties were not in favour of it. Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation Mayor Goes Into Self-Isolation After Seven Councillors Test COVID-19 Positive.
"A majority of those who took part opined that a total lockdown of the state is not warranted and instead ensure that as and where required strict protocols should be in place, where containment zones are announced," the Chief Minister told reporters after the meeting. "All parties expressed their full support to fight COVID-19. The state government will look into all the suggestions and take appropriate steps," he added. COVID-19: Kerala Cabinet to Cancel Assembly Session Scheduled for July 27.
Though Kerala on Friday reported more recoveries than positive cases, the Chief Minister said the guard should not be lowered. The state saw 885 new COVID-19 cases and 976 recoveries. There was a marginal dip in new cases after crossing more than 1,000 cases in the past two days. The total number of positive cases has touched 16,695, with 9,371 currently positive.
"But this is nothing as the situation in our state continues to be serious. Of the new cases, 724 are local infectees of which the source of infection in 56 cases is unknown. In Thiruvananthapuram alone there are five large clusters, mostly fishing villages and the situation is piquant as it has been noticed there has been a spread out of these clusters also and hence there can be no reason for complacency," said Vijayan.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 24, 2020 09:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).