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Updated August 10th, 2021 at 18:04 IST

Kerala HC lashes out at state govt for excluding BEVCO liquor shops from new COVID norms

Kerala HC in its order, pronounced it was, “Baffling, surprising and incongruous" how the Kerala government did not impose new COVID norms for BEVCO outlets.

Reported by: Aakansha Tandon
Kerala HC
Image Credit: PTI | Image:self
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Lashing out at the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led government, the Kerala High Court said that it was baffled by the state government’s decision not to apply COVID protocols to shop from beverages outlets. In its order on Tuesday, the high court pronounces that it was “Baffling, surprising and incongruous" how the Kerala government did not impose new COVID norms for queueing outside bars or Beverages Corporation (BEVCO) outlets to buy alcohol. This happens while the new norms of at least one dose of vaccination or a negative RT-PCR test are mandatory to visit any other shop in the state. 

‘It is baffling, surprising, incongruous,’ Kerala HC to Govt

Amid the unsettling COVID-19 curve in the state, Kerala has imposed COVID-19 norms, under which people who want to go out and shop things must be either vaccinated or shall be tested negative in the last 72 hours. However, the high court exerted its disappointment with the government, as only liquor shops were excluded from the rule.

“Why is the government order mandating at least one dose of vaccination or a negative RT-PCR test not older than 72 hours for visiting shops not applicable to bars and BEVCO outlets where people gather in long queues for several hours?” Justice Devan Ramachandran asked the state government as per a PTI report. 

 "It is baffling, surprising, incongruous that the government order of August 4 is not applicable for buying alcohol. When the government order dated August 4 applies to everything else, why not for buying alcohol? Why is it not complied with within bars and BEVCO outlets? I want an answer to this," Justice Ramachandran said. 

 He thus asked the state government to add the alcohol shops & BELCO establishments under the purview of new guidelines. The Kerala HC was also of the view that this move will push people to get vaccinated sooner. The court said in its judgement that “it would give an impetus to vaccination". If getting vaccinated is a requirement for buying alcohol, "more and more people would opt for it", the court observed.

COVID cases in Kerala

COVID-19 cases in Kerala have not settled yet, since the outbreak of the ferocious second wave of COVID-19 had hit the country. The state reports the highest number of daily cases and deaths, among others and mounts for half of the country's daily new cases. On Tuesday, Union Health Secretary Lav Agarwal noted that Kerala reported 51.51 per cent of total COVID-19 cases recorded in India in the past seven days.

Kerala on Monday reported 13,049 fresh Covid-19 cases, pushing the total COVID cases to 35,65,574, with 105 people succumbing to the virus, as many as 17852 people have died in the state till now. Around 20,004 people have been cured of the infection since Sunday, taking the total recoveries to 33,77,691 and the number of active cases in the state to 1,69,512.

With PTI Inputs

Image Credit: PTI

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Published August 10th, 2021 at 18:04 IST

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