Kerala reports 32 new COVID-19 cases, no community spread in Kasaragod, says CM
Kerala reports 32 new COVID-19 cases, no community spread in Kasaragod, says CM

Kerala reports 32 new COVID-19 cases, no community spread in Kasaragod, says CM

CM Pinarayi Vijayan said that the huge protest gathering in Kottayam on Sunday seemed to be a result of some people instigating the migrant workers.

32 more confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported on Monday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Seventeen of these are people who returned from foreign countries while 15 others came in contact with people who had earlier tested positive. This takes the total number of cases in the state to 234, including the 20 people who recovered and the one person who died due to the disease. 

The new cases include 17 people in Kasaragod, 11 in Kannur and two each in Wayanad and Idukki. The total number of people under observation in the state stands at 1,57,253, out of which 1,56,660 are in home quarantine and the other 623 persons are admitted in various hospitals across Kerala. On Monday, 126 people suspected of having coronavirus were newly admitted to hospitals. 

The Chief Minister allayed fears that there could be community spread in Kasaragod with so many new cases cropping up every day. “There is no community spread in Kasaragod. But the patients who earlier tested positive had come in contact with a number of others who were put under observation. It is some of those people who are now testing positive,” he said.

Till date, 6,991 samples have been sent for testing, out of which 6,031 have come back negative. The Chief Minister mentioned the rapid testing that’s being newly introduced in the state but did not elaborate much over it. 

Before going on to a detailed explanation of the unusually large protest gathering of migrant labourers in Kottayam’s Paippad on Sunday, the Chief Minister addressed the concern regarding the Public Service Commission rank lists that had expired this month. The issue was raised with the PSC officials, he said, and the expiry of the rank lists have been extended by three months. 

‘It appears to be a conspiracy, instigating migrant labourers’

He then went on to talk about the migrant labourers who came out of their camps in Paippad and vehemently demanded that they be allowed to go to their respective native places. The CM said that there are 5,178 camps in the state for migrant labourers and food, accommodation and health of the workers are taken care of here. When they asked for food from their native places, the government agreed to provide that, he said. They demanded that they want to go back home but that cannot happen now, Pinarayi said. 

“That’s what even the Prime Minister has said — stay wherever you are now. It is not something decided by the state government. But one that’s followed across the nation on the basis of what the central government said. But it seemed like a gathering feigning ignorance. It appears to be a conspiracy,” the CM said.

He opined that some people who wanted to show Kerala in a bad light are behind the protest gathering. They tried to instigate the migrant labourers for this, he said. The police have been instructed to find the truth behind it. 

It is in a business-like manner that the migrant labourers are accommodated, the CM said. It is the contractors for whom they work who should ensure their food, he added. But in these circumstances the government decided to provide them with proper accommodation. “When they lost their jobs, they, like others, were forced to spend all the time in these accommodations and they needed proper facilities for that. That’s what the government tried to arrange for them. Along with that, food and medicine were also arranged. It would be the kind of food they are used to - aata, potato, dal and so on,” he said.

In some camps, there are too many workers staying together and the government is trying to restrict the number to a certain limit, the CM said. It has also been decided to provide entertainment facilities so they could watch television and update themselves with the news. 

Discussions would be held with them to find out what other problems they face and bring a solution to it, Pinarayi said. The supervision of migrant labourers’ camps would be done by the respective District Collector. The district police head and district labour officer would make the required inquiries. 

Arrests for spreading fake news

An arrest has been made in Paippad, he said, and further investigations are going on, referring to his earlier observation that the ‘unhealthy’ gathering during lockdown was instigated by some others. Two others have been caught in Malappuram for trying to spread fake news and mislead the workers, the CM said, referring to the arrest of two Congress workers earlier, over the fake news that trains travelling to the north of India could take them to their home. 

Urgent measures have been taken to look after the welfare of migrant workers, Pinarayi added. Home guards who speak Hindi would be employed. Messages in Oriya, Hindi, Bengali would be spread among the workers for their awareness. 

Welfare of police on duty during lockdown 

The police are working in extreme weather conditions to ensure the lockdown is properly observed, the CM told the media. “A senior official has been entrusted to ensure their welfare. The official will make sure that masks, gloves and sanitisers are available for the police on duty. The police would receive an SMS on the checks they need to do. A control room at the state level is arranged to raise any issues they may have.” 

1,213 community kitchens started in state

Community kitchens have started working in 1,031 of the 1,034 local bodies. There are now 1,213 of these in the state. As many as 1,54,258 people were provided food, out of which 1,37,930 got it for free. This campaign was started for those who could not cook on their own or do things on their own, the CM said. There are people who are ready to pay for the food because they don’t want to cook at home. But the community kitchen is not meant for that, he clarified. 

Plan to buy produce from tribal community

Both the Tribal Welfare Department and Forest Department have jointly taken action to buy the produce of the tribes who live in the interior forest areas and to supply essentials to them, Pinarayi said. 

He added that a total of 44 camps have been functioning in the state to house the destitute and the street dwellers and “as many as 2,678 people have been accommodated at such homes.”

If rice and pulses are getting stagnated in any of the schools, the Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs) should be designated to distribute them at fair price and PTAs should intervene in it, he added.

Retirement of Govt Employees

On March 31, scores of government employees would retire from service. There are difficulties in commuting to reach the office and hence even if they don’t turn up at offices they would be considered as retired.

“It has been decided to do away with certificates for getting widow pensions,” the CM said. 

Wages shouldn’t be reduced 

All employers should have clarity on one thing, the wage of employees should not be reduced, the CM said. Also for trucks that conduct both state and inter state services, it has been decided to implement online monitoring. 

Movement of trucks will be categorised into three — one for cooking gas, second for vegetables, fruits and food materials and rest of the essentials in the third category.

Travelling passes will be converted to such that police can do online verification. 

It has been a great service that the doctors and other staff engaged in COVID-19 treatment are doing, Pinarayi said. Accommodation for them will be provided at hotels near the hospitals, if houses are not already rented out for them. 

He also urged television channel heads to do away with the monthly subscription for paid channels.

“In the meeting with bankers representatives today it has been decided that a  special pass will be provided for bank employees,” Pinarayi added. 

Ayurvedic knowledge will be used 

Pinarayi further added that a video conference was done with prominent figures of the Ayurvedic field and said, “They had effectively intervened during the time of chikungunya and dengue. During this crisis-like situation, Ayurveda medicines can be effectively used. But it should also be ensured that there are no side effects.” 

Schools shouldn’t invite applications now

The Chief Minister said that it has come to the government’s notice that some schools have invited applications online for next academic year’s admission. But that can be done later and not now, he said.

On border issues between Kasaragod and Mangaluru

When asked about the border issues between Kerala’s Kasaragod district and Karnataka’s Mangaluru, the CM said that there is hope it will be cleared soon. “We hope that there shall be no border issues for the transport of goods. The Centre has been very clear about this. Everyday state chief secretaries attend a video conference by the Centre. The border issue has been raised there and it's been assured that this problem shall be addressed. A Chief-Minister level intervention had also happened. When that failed to bring any result, I contacted the Prime Minister on Sunday, but could not reach him. However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah called back and he was briefed about the issues including the relation between Mangaluru and Kasaragod.”

Watch:

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com