The Kerala police have clarified that there is no ban on Christmas carolling at night, in response to some reports circulating on social media groups that Christmas carols have been banned after 10 pm. On its official Facebook page, the Kerala police have said that restrictions over Christmas carolling is fake news "Police haven't imposed any such regulations. Creating and spreading fake news is a punishable offense," the Facebook post said.
A news article with the headline "Restrictions for carols: If you go out after 10 pm, even Santa will be arrested" has been widely shared on social media. Sharing a screenshot of the article, the police have now clarified that it is fake.
Christmas carolling groups have started venturing out since December 20 across the state in Kerala. Usually, the carols last till 2-3 am at night.
A police official from the police control room has said that they have received many calls asking about the restrictions imposed on carolling. However, there are no special restrictions imposed in Kerala during Christmas due to the COVID-19 situation, the official confirmed.
However, in the wake of increasing Omicron variant COVID-19 cases, certain states like Odisha and Maharashtra have imposed restrictions for Christmas celebrations. Zero night celebrations and New Year Eve celebrations in hotels, clubs, restaurants, parks, convention halls and kalyan mandaps, and other such venues, have been banned across Odisha. India recorded 122 cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a span of 24 hours, on Friday, December 24, the highest so far. This pushed the tally in the country to 358, 114 of which have either recovered or migrated, according to Union Health Ministry data.
The 358 Omicron COVID-19 cases have been detected across 17 states and union territories so far. Maharashtra has recorded the highest number with 88 cases, followed by Delhi with 67, Telangana with 38, Tamil Nadu with 34, Karnataka with 31 and Gujarat with 30 cases.