Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 03: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today warned about the possibility of the formation of new Covid clusters in the State after the culmination of Onam festivities.

Briefing the media about the Covid situation in the State, the Chief Minister said, “Even though the number of new Covid cases being reported in the State has come down in the last few days, the test positivity rate was much higher than the usual rate and this is a matter of concern. Moreover, the number of tests being conducted in the last few days had also come down due to reluctance of people to go in for testing during the Onam festival time and a large number of public holidays. (It may be noted that there were six public holidays in the last week.) The next two weeks period is crucial as we may see Onam clusters being formed in the State due to increased outdoor public activity and travel during the festival time. We can expect a hike in the Covid cases.”

The CM has exhorted everyone to be more vigilant until a vaccine is available and practise caution as a social vaccine. “We now need to effectively implement social vaccines like Break the Chain. Caution should be exercised in anticipation of the possibility of new clusters and increased spread of the outbreak”, he added.