Vijayan backs out from more relaxations after SC rap

Thiruvananthapuram, July 20 Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, at the weekly meeting of the high-powered committee which decides on Covid lockdown measures, on Tuesday, decided not to relax the present norms, after the state government was pulled up by the Supreme Court earlier in the day.

Any further action has been deferred to the next meeting.

Vijayan had, last week, announced that on account of Bakrid, lockdown norms would be relaxed in the state from July 18-20, and this decision invited the strong ire of the apex court.

The traders body, however, was unhappy with the apex court directive and its leader T. Nasirudhin told the media in Kozhikode that they will seek to implead themselves in the case, as they were not heard even as they have been the most affected.

Right from Tuesday morning, speculations were rife that further relaxations were coming, with most TV channels stating that the Vijayan-chaired meeting was, in all likelihood, even contemplating lifting the present complete lockdown in the state on Saturdays and Sundays.

Vijayan used to take pride that the Kerala model of Covid control has been taken note across the globe in his customary daily press meets, but with the present Covid scenario, he rarely meets the media, as Kerala practically leads the rest of the country, in terms of test positivity rate which is 10.8 per cent, daily cases, total number of active cases.

The Congress and the BJP have alleged that the Covid death figures have been fudged and while state Health Minister Veena George, who denied of any wrong-doing, had two weeks back stated that the full list would be published in three days, but nothing has happened so far.