Kerala govt restricts Onam celebrations, asks Hindus keep at house

On Saturday, Kerala Health Minister Veena George requested Hindus to keep away from crowds, occasions, celebrations and visits to family and associates forward of Onam, citing Covid-19. This comes simply days after having lockdown relaxations for celebrations of Eid-al-Adha (Bakrid). The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala authorities has now requested folks to strictly keep away from crowds and observe Covid-19 protocols whereas organising, attending occasions and celebrations.
Health Minister Veena George mentioned folks ought to keep away from visiting family and household, particularly if there are young children within the household. The newest diktat comes at a time when Kerala is consistently recording over 20,000 contemporary circumstances for over 5 days in a row. The latest surge within the Covid-19 circumstances is attributed to the latest opening up of the state through the Bakrid celebrations, leading to a large spike in infections within the state.
Health Minister Veena George has additionally warned folks in opposition to being complacent and admitted that the state is but to deal with the pandemic. She requested folks to stay further vigilant with a view to forestall a 3rd wave.
Kerala opens up for Eid, closes for Onam
Strangely, the newest orders from the Kerala Health Minister comes simply forward of the Hindu competition of Onam. Despite raging infections in Kerala and the state authorities’s lack of ability to handle the pandemic, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led authorities had given in to the stress and had lifted lockdown restrictions for 3 days to have a good time Bakrid or Eid-ul-Adha from July 18 to July 21.
The Kerala authorities had introduced relaxations for the Bakrid competition in a press convention organised on July 17. This even if Kerala was recording the best new COVID circumstances even at the moment. The Supreme Court, too, that had taken suo moto cognisance over Kanwar Yatra and different celebrations, didn’t take a troublesome stand on Kerala authorities easing relaxations for Eid.
Due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions throughout Barkid celebrations, Kerala has change into the Covid-19 epicentre within the nation as contemporary infections have soared because the final two weeks, hitting a peak final week. As restrictions have been eliminated forward of the Eid celebrations, Kerala has recorded the best variety of contemporary circumstances surpassing the two-month common.
For the fifth consecutive day, Kerala has recorded greater than 20,000 contemporary Covid-19 circumstances on Saturday. Though it noticed a decline in fall within the Test Positivity Rate to 12.31 per cent, the variety of deaths within the state remains to be a matter of concern. Moreover, the Eid occasions in Kerala have now change into the superspreader occasions within the state, risking not simply Kerala but additionally in its neighbouring states comparable to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
On Saturday, Kerala logged 20,624 contemporary circumstances, pushing the an infection caseload to 33,90,761, whereas 80 extra deaths took the toll to 16,781.
Image Source: Covid19.org
The Kerala authorities, which did not impose any restrictions forward of the Eid celebrations or aftermath of the competition, leading to a contemporary wave of the pandemic, now appears to be in a rush to limit Hindus from celebrating the auspicious competition of Onam.