In what looks like a dangerous mismatch of information in the time of coronavirus scare, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the latest information on lockdown in nine Kerala districts as "baseless".
His statement was posted on his Facebook page almost the same time his Chief Secretary Tom Jose told the media that not seven but nine Kerala districts would be locked down from Sunday.
“The State Government has not decided to enforce any new controls in the seven districts. However, we have given instructions to strictly enforce the existing restrictions,” read the chief minister's statement. He added that steps would be taken to clamp more restrictions in Kasaragod, given the special circumstances in the district.
Tom Jose, who attended the videoconference convened by the prime minister on Sunday, informed that two more districts in Kerala would be under lockdown. "There are two more districts that have reported positive cases," he told reporters. They were later identified as Idukki and Palakkad.
Tom Jose said that five more positive cases were reported in the state on Sunday, taking the total number of Covid-19 cases to 54. All five are were Gulf returnees from Kasargod district.
However, a statement released by Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja takes the number even higher. As many as 15 more cases of COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Sunday, the release informed, taking the total number of novel coronavirus infected people in the state to 67. Of them, three had recovered earlier.
The minister urged the public to keep extreme vigil to avoid the spread of the virus.
As on Sunday, 59,295 people are under observation for suspected infection. Of them, 58,981 people are home quarantined and 314 are hospitalised. A total of 9,776 people were exempted from surveillance on Sunday.
The health minister added that there was still no scare of community transmission. She hinted that the irresponsible behaviour of the infected Gulf returnees in Kasaragod pushed the state almost to the verge of community transmission.
Confusion over Kochi Metro closure
Kasargod, therefore, will be incomplete shutdown but there will be no bar on travel in private vehicles in districts that have been locked down. This policy decision was also declared by the chief secretary. "We don't see the threat of virus spread if anyone travels in their own vehicles," chief secretary Tom Jose said.
He also announced that Kochi Metro would be shut down just like Mumbai Metro. The Chief Minister's Facebook post was silent on this, too.
Tom Jose also hinted that Kerala government, like Tamil Nadu and other states, also wanted the Janata Curfew called by the Prime Minister to extend till the morning of March 23. "The curfew was near perfect in Kerala. The people have understood the importance of such a measure. So we hope that they would go ahead with the curfew, a self-imposed one even after the official curfew ends at 9 p.m.," Tom Jose said and added: "Even after 9 p.m. we don't want people to come out in groups and celebrate. There should be no congregations."
Like the health minister, the Chief Secretary too sought to allay fears. "I think India is in a better position in comparison to the situation in other countries," he said. He said the number of COVID-19 cases in America on March 1 was 75. In India, at that time, there were five cases. However, the number of cases in America galloped to over 20,000 by March 22. But in India, the number could be contained at 350 on March 22.
Other lockdown-related policy decisions were also spelt out by the Chief Secretary. "Restaurants and hotels would not be closed but we have told them they should not allow people to gather in groups," the Chief Secretary said. He also said that the Chief Minister would meet representatives of traders on March 23 to firm up decisions.
The decision to lock down 75 districts in the country, including more than half in Kerala, was taken at a high-level video conference called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Janata Curfew day. Besides the Prime Minister's principal secretary, the conference was attended by the cabinet secretary and the chief secretaries of all states. The states are yet to get a formal order regarding the lockdown.
