Kerala govt in catch-22 situation over new Covid relaxations

The Kerala government is in a catch-22 situation over new relaxations in lockdown announced for the celebration of Eid festival.

While the Indian Medical Association (IMA) flayed the move and said it would move the court against the decision, the anti-CPM camps have triggered a social media campaign that the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government was involved in communal appeasement rather than curbing Covid, while Congress has maintained a silence on the matter so far.

The Kerala government's decision to give a three-day relaxation came after a section of traders, especially from Muslim-dominated areas of North Kerala, made a call for defying the restrictions. The traders lamented that the prolonging lockdown restrictions were badly affecting their livelihood.

Many major commercial streets witnessed a considerable crowd on Sunday. The police banned street sales at many places to avoid crowding.

Read | VHP objects to easing of Covid restrictions for Eid-ul-Azha in Kerala

The IMA said in a statement that it was unfortunate that Kerala was allowing relaxations in restrictions citing religious events even when states like Uttar Pradesh had stopped popular pilgrim yatras.

Kerala was in the limelight for effectively resisting Covid initially, but is now facing severe criticism as the virus scare remains unabated. The test positivity rate was hovering around 10 per cent over the last few weeks in the state. Kerala health department maintained that the situation was prolonging in the state as part of a strategy to delay the surge and keep the death rate low by ensuring that all get proper treatment.

However, the weekend lockdowns and other curbs were inviting widespread criticism as they caused huge rush at shops on weekends. Lack of proper enforcement of Covid protocol was alleged to be a reason for the rise in Kerala.