In line with the Centre’s guidelines on Unlock 3.0, the Kerala High Court has extended the ban on all protests in the state until August 31. The court made the order as the state has been seeing a steady increase in cases, especially through contact transmission. On July 15, the Kerala High Court had issued the ban on all kinds of protests until July 31. In August, the court decided to extend the ban.
According to the court order, all types of protests including processions, public gatherings, hunger strike and speeches in public will not be allowed until August 31.
In its previous order on July 15, the court had specified that only those events, which conform to the guidelines laid out by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), will be allowed.
On Sunday, Kerala’s COVID-19 tally crossed the 25,000 cases mark as 1,169 people tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Sunday’s bulletin. The death toll, as on Sunday, stands at 83.
Thiruvananthapuram also accounts for the highest number of daily cases with 377 new cases on Sunday, taking the total count in the state capital to 3,472.
State Health Minister KK Shailaja told reporters that Ernakulam district reported 128 new cases on Sunday, while Malappuram and Kasaragod districts saw 126 and 113 COVID-19 cases respectively.
In July, opposition party cadres in Kerala violated the COVID-19 rules to take out a protest against the ruling CPI(M) in connection with the gold smuggling case. The Muslim Youth League and Yuva Morcha had taken out a protest march to the Kozhikode Collectorate while the Youth Congress marched to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence in Kannur. Both the protest marches had turned violent. The protesting crowds were dispersed by the police with tear gas shells and water cannons.