Former Chief Secretary K.M. Abraham will head an expert task force that will chart out an action plan to help the government restore normal life and kick-start economic activity when the lockdown ends.
Specific schemes
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked States to come up with region-specific schemes to help the respective administrations to reduce the intensity of the nationwide lockdown without triggering a sudden, rapid and uncontrollable rush of people into public places in the country.
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Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a panel comprising law and order experts, newspaper editors, filmmakers, economists and business persons would assist Mr Abraham. Mr. Vijayan condemned as fake news the report that Kerala had blocked its inter-State border roads with neighbouring Tamil Nadu after epidemiologists identified Madurai, Salem and Erode as COVID-19 hotspots. The Chief Minister called people in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as ‘our brothers’ and said that Kerala stood solidly behind them in their hour of need.
‘Fake news’
He slammed the ‘fake news’ that the government had announced the calendar for the remaining SSLC and higher secondary board examinations.
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Relief for workers
The Chief Minister announced ex gratia payments ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹1,000 and interest-free loans up to ₹10,000 for lakhs of workers in the State.
The beneficiaries included motor vehicle employees, bar and toddy shop workers, auto and taxi drivers, employees of stage carriage operators, salespersons, petrol pump staff, among others.