KOCHI: With 111 more cases of Covid being reported on Friday, the Kerala government’s decision to reopen shopping malls and places of worship from June 8 has become a cause for concern. Experts feel that lifting restrictions would expose a very large section of the population, particularly the elderly, to the virus at a critical juncture, undermining all the good work done by the state so far to control the pandemic.
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) strongly came out against the decision warning that such a move would harm Covid containment efforts and sharply increase the risks. Earlier, independent Christian associations had also deplored the move, and had urged the government to reconsider the decision. “We are forgetting the fact that we are dealing with a virus that can spread easily. Social distancing is the key to tackle the disease. Easing of lockdown restrictions and deciding to reopen places of worship when the number of cases is seeing a surge will have dire consequences,” said Dr Abraham Varghese, state president of IMA.
Even while there is widespread awareness about the necessity of wearing facemasks, police have registered more than 45,000 cases since May 23 for violation of this rule. “With just limited relaxations, we can see that people are violating social distancing norms and not wearing masks properly. This shows that we are not ready for any more relaxations. We are very close to community spread. If that happens, the strain on the healthcare sector will be more than one can imagine. We will be faced with the same tragic scenario that many states are now undergoing, with no hospitals left with facilities to even admit patients,” said Dr Varghese.
The IMA on Friday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in this regard. “We should be forewarned that opening shopping malls and religious institutions in the present situation is a guaranteed recipe for disaster, which will lead to the pandemic spiralling out of control. We must ensure that such a situation, where an uncontrollable number of patients are infected, is not allowed to arise,” the letter said.
Though bishops of various churches have assured the government that they will ensure social distancing and regulate the number of faithful attending the Holy Mass, a faction of priests and Christian progressive groups have raised their voice against the proposal.
“At this critical period, the decision to reopen churches for service is ill-timed and unwise. How much you try, the risk of exposure to the virus due to crowding cannot be discounted. We will be risking the entire community,” said a priest who belongs to the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church. “It is a very scary situation. It is a fact that we all miss going to churches on Sundays. However, the risk of infection at churches scares me. Why go through the mess?” asked Lilly John, a faithful.