Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday urged Muslims not to assemble for prayers during the holy month of Ramzan that is expected to commence soon.
Mr. Vijayan had held a videoconference with Muslim religious authorities earlier in the day. He said clerics, spiritual leaders and religious scholars who attended the meeting from different parts of the State through videolink agreed that believers should comply with the physical distancing norm.
Season of giving
Mr. Vijayan reminded the faithful that Ramzan was the season of giving. He urged believers to help the needy and also to contribute to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund. Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel attended the conference.
The State has appealed to the Centre to slash the fixed electricity charge for commercial and industrial units, which could not work during the lockdown period. It has also sought a 2% reduction of surcharge for domestic consumers.
Kannur lockdown
Mr. Vijayan said the government would enforce the lockdown more rigorously in Kannur district, which has the highest number of COVID-19 persons under treatment currently. He said the epidemic spread in “strange ways” and its danger persisted in more ways than one.
The Chief Minister said the scarcity of water and rising summer temperatures forced wild animals to foray into habitats abutting forests, destroy crops and terrorise people. The Forest Department should come up with a strategy to prevent wildlife-human conflict.
Arrival of NoRKs
Mr. Vijayan said the State was prepared to attend to non-resident Keralites (NoRKs) arriving from abroad. Those without symptoms would be quarantined at home for 14 days.
Others would be isolated in special centres. NoRKs testing positive for the virus would be hospitalised.
