Kerala CM reminds people to be vigilant and continue social distancing

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday reminded people in the state to continue to be vigilant of the COVID-19 pandemic, follow social distancing norms and wear masks.

Speaking at the virtual inauguration of 90 school buildings, the Chief Minister said that there was no other way to go about the COVID-19 pandemic other than strictly imposing the precautions in the state.

"Social distancing should always be maintained in shops and only a certain number of people should enter at a time. Masks should be worn and hand sanitizer should be used. Despite repeated instruction, our vigilance has gone down. There is no other way to deal with the virus than strict enforcement of guidelines," he said.

"We have had to impose fines when people take the seriousness of the virus lightly. Those not wearing masks will be fined. It is the responsibility of shop-owners to make sure that necessary arrangements are made," he added.

He further said that more than 20 people should not attend government events and testing numbers would be increased.

With 7,834 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the total number of active cases in Kerala reached 80,818.

As many as 22 deaths were also reported in the last 24 hours taking the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 813. A total of 1,39,620 COVID-19 patients have recovered in the state so far.