An all-party meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday decided that a lockdown was not the panacea for retarding the pace of the COVID-19 pandemic in Kerala.
The meeting agreed to review the situation after a fortnight. If the contagion worsened, the conference would weigh the reintroduction of severe curbs on life, travel, production and retail trade.
Mr. Vijayan said the lockdown had hurt workers in the unorganised sector most. Many survived on daily wages and had no protections available to the salaried class. A closing down of the economy would further push them down the path to poverty.
Moreover, experts had expressed scepticism about whether a lockdown would help flatten the disease curve permanently.
Earlier, Mr. Vijayan had reportedly told a Left Democratic Front (LDF) meeting that the infection would peak in Kerala in mid-October. He reportedly predicted that the daily new-case count could touch 15,000.
Renewed efforts
The government has to walk a tightrope between reining in the rate of infection and keeping the economy open. Hence, the all-party meeting decided to rope in the services of politicians, cutting across party lines, to persuade the public to comply with the mask rule and physical distancing norms.
The UDF had earlier announced that it would drop mass agitations until the contagion receded. LDF had followed suit on Tuesday. BJP State president K. Surendran said the protests against the government would continue within the bounds prescribed by the pandemic prevention protocol.
The police and LSGIs would prevent overcrowding in markets and shops. Mask compliance was mandatory, and violators would invite hefty fines. Mass transport operators should ensure the physical distance between passengers.
CBI probe
When pressed whether the government was considering an Ordinance to get around the CBI inquiry into the controversial LIFE Mission-UAE Red Crescent deal, Mr. Vijayan said the government could act only within the bounds of the law.
It was examining the matter, he said. To another question, he said political parties were entitled to their opinions about the CBI. The government would not hazard any comment.