Railway and bus stations, markets, shops and business establishments, churches, and other places of worship in the city remained shut on Sunday during a nation-wide Janata Curfew to fight the spread of COVID-19.
Churches were prominently empty as priests celebrated Mass without the usual Sunday gathering. Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, celebrated Mass at Mount St. Thomas, while the two basilicas — St. Mary’s and St. Francis Assisi — remained shut to the faithful as Mass was celebrated.
In the early hours of Sunday, the Ernakulam South railway station was deserted but for the presence of police personnel, all of them in masks.
Only a couple of passengers were seen alighting from a train that arrived from the pilgrim town of Velankanni in Tamil Nadu. There were no modes of public transport in view.
Kakkanad, a busy suburb of Kochi, usually humming with activities even on Sundays and where the administrative headquarters is situated, was almost deserted. Vehicles stayed off the road.
However, a press release from the Public Relations Department said the COVID-19 control room operating out of the district collectorate worked as usual, with the staff being safely transported to the facility.
The usual Sunday market for organic vegetables, a notable affair in Kakkanad, remained shut, so did the market that opens on Sundays for affordable cloths and footwear. Fuel pumps remained open across the district. Indian Oil Corporation had informed that all the three public sector oil marketing companies would keep their outlets open but had advised customers to engage in regular filling of fuels.
Major fish landing centres at Thoppumpady, Kalamukku, Vypeen, and Munambam remained shut to business, so did the major markets for fish and vegetables in Ernakulam, Champakkara, Varapuzha, and Thevara.
