Kerala HC slams govt for poor crowd control amid COVID
Jul 15, 2021
Kochi (Kerala) [India], July 15 : The Kerala High Court on Thursday criticised the state government for not effectively implementing crowd control measures in public areas amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
While considering a petition seeking permission to open garment shops, the Court also said that it was time for the government to make a policy decision on the opening of shops.
"Social distancing is not being maintained in public places. The only thing is that people are wearing masks. This is the view of public places in Kerala," a Bench of Justice TR Ravi said.
The Court directed the state government to clarify its position on the petition by next Thursday.
A weekend lockdown is currently in place in Kerala as part of efforts to curb the spread of the infectious virus. It had been imposed in the state earlier in April when the second COVID wave hit. The state is still recovering, with daily cases hovering between 10,000 to 15,000 for the last few weeks.
Kerala is among the worst COVID-affected states in the country. As many as 15,637 new cases, 12,974 recoveries and 128 deaths were reported in the state on Wednesday.
The positivity rate in the state stands at 10.03 per cent. There are currently 1,17,708 active cases. The death toll stands at 14,938.
