As he confirmed that the total number of coronavirus positive cases in Kerala has risen to 12, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday announced a slew of measures to curb further spread of the virus in the coastal state. Cancelling all exams till class seven, the state government has declared holiday for all schools and colleges, including professional colleges, till March 31.
Vijayan, however, said that examinations from class eight to 10 would be conducted as usual. All SSLC examinations and Class 11 and Class 12 examinations will also go on as scheduled. Vijayan also urged all tutorial and tuitions classes, anganvadis, madrassas not to conduct sessions till end of March.
In addition, the Kerala government has cancelled all public functions. The chief minister asked all Keralites to avoid large gatherings and public functions, including religious and temple festivals. He made a case in point regarding the Sabarimala temple. While there are no curbs on the daily rituals in the Lord Ayyappa temple, Vijayan requested devotees to avoid going to the temple.
He informed that the state is undertaking measures to increase supply of sanitizers and face masks. Moreover, special instructions have been given to ensure high-speed broadband connectivity in anticipation of more online activity as people have been encouraged to stay indoors.
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He also asked people to stay away from big weddings and functions. While there is no ban on weddings, the CM urged people to hold simple functions and ensure minimum guests.
The chief minister asked the public to cooperate with the restrictions considering the pace at which the epidemic is spreading. Even as he alleviated fears and briefed about the measures taken to arrest the spread of the deadly virus, Vijayan cautioned that the virus needs to be tackled with utmost care and speead to avoid a major public health scare.
Further, the CM also requested that movie theaters be shut down till March 31 keeping in mind the larger public good. Kerala currently has 12 Covid-19 positive cases as six more new cases were reported on Tuesday.
