Ernakulam: The Kerala government imposed Section 144 of the CrPC across the state for a month, starting on Saturday, in the wake of the increase in coronavirus cases.
After reporting zero new cases for several days in recent months, the state now has the second-highest rate of increase in covid-19 cases and the third-highest number of active cases, 72,339, as of Thursday night.
Article 144 prohibits the gathering of more than five people. Sure enough, Thursday night’s order will put a pause in social and political gatherings that emerged as a major challenge to control the spread in September. District magistrates have been asked to make the necessary arrangements to fully implement the order, as well as continue to seal the containment areas where the virus is spreading rapidly.
The government order said curfew-like conditions will not apply to clerks, businesses and markets. It limits the relaxations provided by the latest phase of the ‘Unblocking’ measures, which allowed gatherings of up to 100 people outside the hotspots and gave conditional permission to open movie theaters as of October 1.
The Kerala government issued the order after it decided to avoid a total shutdown to curb COVID cases after an all-party meeting this week. The state’s total confirmed cases doubled in September and crossed 2 lakh on Thursday. It is the ninth state in India to cross the two lakh mark of cases.
While the state has increased testing, with 59,157 samples tested Thursday, its positivity rate has held steady for the past few weeks at 13.7%, according to government data. At 771, the death toll in Kerala is also comparatively lower than in other states with a high caseload.
.
