Health Minister K.K. Shylaja has urged the people to avoid public celebrations in connection with Pooja and Vidyarambham festivities, given the COVID-19 situation in the State.
The State’s experience is that the infection can turn severe in children and the aged if they contract the disease. This being the situation, the public should heed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s request that Vidyarambham rites should be performed at home, the Minister said.
Persons who initiate the children into the world of letters at Vidyarambham should wash their hands before and after every child performs the ritual. If gold is used to write on the child’s tongue, it should be disinfected first.
Persons who display disease symptoms should not attend the ceremony.
Ceremonies connected to Navaratri and Vidyarambham should be confined to small clusters consisting of two or three families. No such ceremonies should be carried out outside the homes in containment zones.
People above 65, pregnant women, and children below 10 should remain indoors. COVID-19 protocols such as the use of masks and sanitisers and maintaining physical distance should be observed during the ceremonies, the Minister said.
All parts of the State were under COVID-19 threat, she added. Even in districts with low caseload, the increase in infection among people aged above 60 was a matter of concern. The public should heed the guidelines issued by the Health Department for the Navaratri celebrations, Shylaja said.
