For the first time, more than 10,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported on a single day in Kerala. On Wednesday evening, a release sent by the Health Department said that 10,606 people have been newly infected with the coronavirus. However, the rise in number comes after the testing samples rose by several thousand.
In the last 24 hours, 73,816 samples were tested. A day before, when more than 60,000 samples were tested, there were 7,871 new cases reported from the state.
However, there are also a good number of recoveries recorded every day. On Friday, 6,161 people tested negative for the coronavirus, taking the total number of recoveries to 1,60,253. The number of people under treatment now is 92,161.
Five days ago, the government had asked District Collectors of the state to impose Section 144 of the CrPC to prevent gatherings of more than five people, in light of the spike in cases.
Maximum of 20 people allowed in worship centres
In a high level meeting presided over by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday it was decided that a maximum of 20 people can be allowed in a place of worship on regular days. This is in light of the various restrictions being imposed in the state after the spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
In normal circumstances, 20 people will be allowed in places of worship. However, when there are special ceremonies or rituals to be conducted, a maximum of 40 people will be allowed in Hindu temples, depending on the convenience in the worship centres. For the Friday prayers in mosques and the Sunday masses in churches, a maximum of 40 people will be allowed depending on the space in the respective worship centres. In all cases, COVID-19 protocol should be followed.
In Sabarimala, a maximum of 250 people will be allowed for darshan at the temple on pooja days and following COVID-19 protocol.