Kerala count 52 with 12 new cases
bearers of the Thrichambara temple office bearers for allowing more than 200 devotees for a function held on Friday evening.
In Thrissur district, cases were registered against the parish priest, vicar and other church officials of the Catholic Church in Ollur for allowing a mass gathering for a special prayer meeting.
A police team arrived at the church to stop the prayer meeting.
Travancore Devaswom Board which manages many temples in the southern districts of Kerala, including the famous Sabarimala hill shrine, has decided to take stern measures in view of certain temples violating the instructions given by the state government in connection with covid-19.
Devotees will not be allowed in major temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board till March 31
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Tamil Nadu government has assured that vehicles coming with essential goods to Kerala will not be stopped at border check post.
The matter was raised by Kerala chief secretary with his Tamil Nadu counterpart following reports that officials were intercepting goods vehicles at the border check posts.
Twelve new cases of Covid–19 were confirmed in Kerala on Saturday taking the total number of cases to 52 including the three students from Wuhan who recovered fully from the infection.
Of the 12 cases, 6 are from Kasargod, 3 from Ernakulam and 3 from Kannur. Over the last two days, 24 cases have been reported. All confirmed cases are Gulf returnees.
At a press conference, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the confirmed cases do not suggest community spread as of now. The cases reported so far pertain to people who returned from abroad and their close contacts including family members.
As on Saturday 53,013 persons are under surveillance in the state including 52,705 under home quarantine and 228 are in isolation wards in hospitals. As many as 70 persons were admitted to hospitals today.
Of the 3,716 samples sent for testing, 2,566 have
The Chief Minister expressed concern over a section of people including members of religious bodies continuing to violate the instructions on avoiding mass gatherings in places of worship.
“We are repeatedly appealing to them to comply with the government instructions. If they continue to violate the norms the government will be forced to take stringent measures including prohibitory orders as it is the question of the safety of people at large,” he added.
Mr Vijayan said the reckless and irresponsible behaviour of the infected person who returned from Gulf, has already peculiar situation in Kasargod district.
“Since the man is not cooperating fully, the route map prepared as of now of places visited by him is partial. All methods are being used to get more information about his movement through counselling. But there is still some lack of clarity. Also his attitude raises suspicion. We are probing the matter,” he said. been found negative.