THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For the second consecutive day, Kerala reported more cases of recovery from Covid-19 and fewer positive cases. On Monday, the state had 19 survivors (12 in Kasaragod, three each in Pathanamthitta and Thrissur and one in Kannur) and three positive cases (two in Kannur and one in Palakkad).
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters the whole credit for not allowing the 19 cases to spike should go to the people of the state. He said except some, the population as a whole had heeded the government’s call for staying at home, thus helping to slow the spread of the virus.
“The less number of positive cases for consecutive days doesn’t mean that the threat is over. It is just a ray of hope. A minor lapse now could lead to a huge disaster. Hence, the vigil must continue. The biggest threat is community transmission and stringent measures will continue to avoid the same,” said the CM.
On a question on the state’s course of action as the 21-day nationwide lockdown comes to an end at midnight on Tuesday, Pinarayi said the state will make its plans clear only after the Prime Minister’s address to the nation in the morning.
“The state could only make its plans clear after the PM’s address. However, one thing is clear — at no point can the state ease its alertness against the virus. The examples from all over the world underscore that one can’t predict the viral attack. Hence, the state will continue its strict attitude for containing the virus,” said the CM.
‘Zero tolerance to nokkukooli’
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday came down heavily on the practice of ‘nokkukooli’. Citing an incident in Tiruvalla where some headload workers demanded ‘nokkukooli’ (extortion without doing any work) the CM said though the practice has been abolished, some people are trying to revive it. “It is not an isolated incident. Similar cases were reported from other places. The government will not tolerate this. The police officials have been asked to initiate strict action against those who are behind this,” said Pinarayi.
Online facilities for learning
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the closure of educational institutions in view of the Covid-19 pandemic should not affect the learning activities of students. For this purpose, the government has made available textbooks of Malayalam, English, Kannada and Tamil medium schools of Classes I to X on the online platform. In addition, higher secondary textbooks, pre-primary students’ working cards, handbook for teachers and others have been made available for downloading from the SCERT website. Pinarayi also saod that 75 per cent of textbook printing work for the next academic session have been completed. The printing will be expedited, he said.