Kasaragod has been in the news ever since it was found that a person who has tested positive for coronavirus had met several people before he was isolated. Twenty eight more COVID-19 cases have been reported from Kerala on Monday of which 19 cases are from the northern district. With this the total number of cases in the district has shot up to 38.
While the government has been insisting that regulations will be implemented strictly, and has asked people to follow them, on Monday there was a rush in several marketplaces in the district despite health warnings. The crowd didn't follow any advisory – from wearing masks to keeping a safe distance. People flocked to shops and jostled to buy things.
"The rush was huge in all the shops in the city while I had gone to buy medicines in the morning. Even at medical shops people had been buying out medicines for a month. No one was wearing a mask, neither did they maintain a safe distance," Balakrishnan, a native of Nelliketta, told TNM.
Navas, a native of Eriyil, told TNM that in some places police intervened to direct people to keep a safe distance.
People in the district, like the rest of the country, had stayed indoors on Sunday on account of the Janata Curfew announced by the Prime Minister.
A lockdown has been in place in the district since March 21. In a lockdown situation shops can work from 11 am to 5 pm.
"The rush was huge in front of shops in the morning. Soon, the Collector directed the shops to shut down, then came the government's order to continue the lockdown rather than imposing a curfew. Hence, the shops resumed selling," Ahraz Aboobacker, who is a local activist in Mokaral Purhoor told TNM.
"I don't think people get the seriousness of the situation, or what exactly the government has asked them to follow. They were not just buying essentials but everything. The rush was equally huge in fish and beef markets. The jostling has caused a shortage of things at certain places. The government must soon intervene in the situation," he added.
Nayanmarmoola, Vidya Nagar and Oliyathudukka also saw people flocking to shops and markets.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his daily press meet on Monday said that the situation in Kasaragod is different from other parts of the state, and that the government is forced to make measures stricter there and no one should get out unnecessarily in the district.
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