Kerala

John is a winner of the Dr. B.C. Roy award and served in the Christian Medical College, Vellore as the chief of Virology services from 1967 to 1995 besides 15 years as chief of the Centre of Advanced Research in Virology. Speaking to IANS, John said that only Kerala has the full data and only the full data tells the tale. "In Kerala the infection per lakh of population is 11,141, while in Uttar Pradesh it is 759 and in Karnataka it's 4,473," said John.

But, gone are those days and the situation has come to such an extent that today if a Keralite has to cross the border of the state, for easy and smooth passage, one will have to be armed with a Covid vaccine jab certificate or any one of the mandatory Covid test results. On Wednesday the latest news is that if implemented by neighbouring Karnataka state, all those coming from Kerala will have to undergo a seven-day quarantine after entering their state.

Then he was given the plum portfolios of Public Works and Tourism and after nearly three months, what everyone is interested in knowing is whether the governance in the state has turned into a family affair. This became evident when he successful took control of the flagship project of former State Finance Minister Thomas Isaac Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board ( KIIFB).

State Health Minister Veena George announced the new guidelines on Wednesday, which says that those who enter shops, banks and other establishments should have at least one dose of vaccine or an RT-PCR certificate not older than 72 hours. In the Kerala Assembly, on Thursday, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan led a walkout of the House in protest against George, who categorically said there would be no change in the norms.

The easing of the norms was on the cards as the traders' body was up in arms, and with the Onam season round the corner, it was the only way these traders could get the business started again. Announcing the revised lockdown norms, journalist turned State Minister of Health Veena George said the method of locking down was based on the test positivity rate .

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a statement, said that the test positivity rate (TPR) rose to 11.87 per cent, from 10.93 per cent on Monday. The state has 1,73,221 active cases as on Tuesday, which also saw 15,626 turning negative. Another 148 deaths were reported, taking the death toll to 17,103. Malappuram district accounted for 4,276 cases, on Tuesday followed by Thrissur with 2,908.

"Rising cases of Coronavirus infections in Kerala are worrying. I appeal to our brothers and sisters in the state to follow all safety measures and guidelines. Please take care," he said in a tweet. The Congress Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad remarks came after Kerala witnessed a spike in the number of Covid cases in recent days. Over 20,000 new cases were recorded on Thursday for the third successive day.

According to a statement issued by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Malappuram district had the highest daily number of cases, at 2,318, followed by Ernakulam with 2,270, Kozhikode with 2,151, Trissur at 1983, and the state capital district had 1,166. There were 105 fresh deaths, taking the total death tally to 15,617.

A bench comprising Justice R.F. Nariman and B.R Gavai said: "We may only say shocking state of affairs...the relaxation of a day in category D (areas having high Covid positivity rate) is wholly uncalled for." The bench emphasized, "Pressure groups of any kind, religious or otherwise, cannot in any manner interfere with citizens' fundamental right to life."

He has sent the resignation letter by mail to the authorities. Vipin hails from Payyannnur in North Kerala and has been teaching at the IIT Madras since March 2019. The letter which he posted on social media platforms has gone viral. Vipin in the letter said that he had faced caste discrimination even in his department of Humanities and that OBC's and SC/ST teachers are facing huge discrimination at the premier institute.