Covid cases surge in Kerala, but parties agree on no lockdown

Even as Kerala's daily Covid positive cases are crossing the 28,000 mark, an all-party meeting held here on Monday to discuss this serious issue of widespread surge, however, ruled out the need for a total lockdown.

The all-party meeting, called by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, was held online.

Emerging out after the two-hour-long meeting, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala told the media that all parties were agreeable on not enforcing a total lockdown.

"We also decided to ensure that on counting day, May 2, all the celebrations are kept to the least, given the grave situation that the state is presently passing through," the Congress leader said.

The meeting also decided to ensure that all the district administrators strictly enforce the guidelines, especially when it came to holding of weddings and funerals with the numbers to be kept at the bare minimum.

Among the other things that was discussed include to watch and wait with the present protocols which include the present night curfew from 9 p.m to 5 a.m. There was also consensus on continuing with the semi-lockdown protocols that came into force every Saturday and Sunday, when only shops selling essential items will open and all others will remain closed, besides private transport vehicles also will not be allowed and all have to remain indoors.

On Sunday, 28,469 people turned positive taking the total cases in the state to 2,18,893, the highest ever since the pandemic surfaced last year. Ernakulam district appeared to be the worst-affected with Sunday recording an all-time high of over 4,000 cases.

In the past one week, the state has witnessed a massive testing drive where almost on an average everyday around one lakh tests was being done.

The all-party meeting held Monday in all likelihood would be the last under the present dispensation as now it depends on the results on May 2.