With the state of Kerala recording 31,337 new Covid-19 cases in just 24 hours Pinarayi Vijayan is all set to conduct his swearing-in ceremony in the presence of 500 people on Thursday. At present, there is triple lockdown in place in Kerala where a common man cannot venture out to get essential commodities.
The oath-taking ceremony of the newly-elected LDF government is scheduled to be held at the Central Stadium at 3:30 PM on Thursday amidst the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
It is imperative to note that the state is currently going through the second week of lockdown after witnessing a sudden surge in new Covid-19 cases resulting in the complete collapse of the health care system.
Turning a blind’s eye to the bleak situation of the state to justify the decision, Chief Minister Vijayan claimed that the stadium has a capacity of 50,000 people, however, only one-hundredth of this number is being allowed making it a “low-key” affair.
Suggesting that 500 is not a big number, Vijayan informed that the other pillars of democracy including the judiciary and media are not going to be a part of the ceremony and that the guests will have to produce a negative RTPCR report to attend the event.
Ironically, the state as of now does not allow a gathering of more than 20 for any function.
Grim situation in Kerala
As per an ANI report released last week, over 1000 medical staff were found corona positive in 10 days. Speaking to ANI, Dr T N Suresh, general secretary of Kerala Government Medical Officer’s Association said, “The number of Covid cases is increasing day by day in the state and that at an alarming rate. About 4.5 lakh patients are currently under treatment in the state. More and more health workers are turning into patients.”
The testing positivity rate is as high as 23.29% in the state of Kerala.