Ban order on entry to malls, beaches revised

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after the district administration imposed a complete ban on entry to beaches and malls in the city, the ban order was revised on Sunday.
The new order doesn’t mention about the ban but advises the public to exercise caution while entering tourist spots, beaches, parks, public playgrounds and malls. The public has been advised not to assemble in groups in these places.
Police and owners of malls have been directed to ensure that people do not assemble in groups in these places. The revised order was issued by the chief executive officer of district disaster management authority on Sunday.
Collector K Gopalakrishan said on Saturday that entry to beaches and malls will be completely restricted and an order banning the entry was also issued on Saturday.
Later, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that complete ban on malls was not necessary and it was pointed out that such directions would create unnecessary panic.
The chief minister reiterated the need to not cause panic towards the end of the video conference held on Saturday.
The city went into partial shutdown mode on Saturday after the collector ordered a ban on entry to beaches and malls.
A notice was displayed banning entry of people at Shangumugham beach on Saturday. The district administration is learnt to have revised the ban order to avoid a conflict with the state government.
The ban on entry to beaches and malls was decided following a review meeting convened by the collector on Saturday.
In the meeting, it was cited that malls are places which are highly vulnerable to the spread of infection through chances of contact in supermarkets, toilets, escalators and eateries. Sources said that the decision to impose a ban on entry to malls and beaches was taken after an elaborate decision.