The whole country is set to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha (Bakri Eid) on 20th July. On Saturday, 17th July 2021, Pinarayi Vijayan – the Chief Minister of Kerala, issued new guidelines for the state to follow during the Eid celebrations amid Covid-19.
According to the newly announced guidelines, the shops in areas under triple lockdown will be allowed to open on Eid. This permission is given to textile, footwear, electronics, clothing & jewellery shops. However, they should not be open beyond 8 pm.During the festival, worship places should allow a maximum of 40 persons. And they must be at least vaccinated with one dose.The Kerala government has decided to continue with the complete weekend lockdown, excluding 18th, 19th, and 20th July, owing to Bakri Eid.
PM Modi had mentioned on the same day that the increment in the number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala and Maharashtra was a cause of grave worry. This is why Union Minister and BJP leader V Muraleedharan criticized the decision made by the Kerala government. He made a statement that the government in Kerala is not following a scientific approach to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and must adopt one.
On Saturday, Kerala recorded around 16,148 fresh COVID-19 cases. Kozhikode has the most number of cases with several 2105. Malappuram has 2033 cases, which Ernakulam follows with 1908 cases. Thrissur has 1758 cases. Kollam and Palakkad have 1304 and 1140 active covid cases, respectively. Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram have nearly 1084 and 1025 cases each.
Of the new cases, 75 cases are from health workers, and 62 came from others. Around 15,269 cases were infections through contact, with the source of contact being not clear in 742 cases.The infection caseload spiked to 31,46,981, with the toll rising to 15,269 and 114 more deaths. Approximately 13,197 people were cured of the infection, with around 30,06,439 recoveries.
Currently, there are 1,24,779 active cases. Nearly 1,950 people were arrested, and the Kerala police seized 3,327 vehicles for violation of COVID-19 norms.