Coronavirus cases: Kerala govt prohibits public gatherings on New Year's eve

New Delhi, Dec 31: The Kerala government has issued an order prohibiting all public gatherings as part of New Year celebrations. Signed by principal secretary Dr A Jayathilak, the order has been sent to all district collectors and police chiefs says that all the celebrations on New Year's eve (December 31) should cease by 10 pm).

It can be seen that the decision has been taken in view of the coronavirus pandemic. "Given the Covid-19 pandemic situation in the state, New Year 2021 celebration by the public is likely to result in a spike in the transmission of Covid-19, if extant Covid protocols are not adhered to," the order said.

The order has made wearing of face masks, maintenance of social distance and sanitisation mandatory for those celebrating new year. The order has said that lawful action will be initiated against people who fail to adhere to these norms.

It can be seen that Kerala is the latest to impose curbs on new year celebrations in the wake of the new strain of the virus that has been found in the United Kingdom. Delhi too imposed similar measures for December 31 and January 1.

Maharashtra was one of the first states to impose a night curfew once the new strain was discovered. The seven-hour curbs were imposed on December 22 and will continue till January 5.

Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Manipur and Rajasthan too have announced night curfew to check the spread of the virus.

All these states have prohibited large gatherings and made COVID protocols, like wearing face masks and sanitising the area, mandatory.