'Probing the matter?' Aakash Chopra questions how Police didn't know about gathering of the large procession in Thiruvananthapuram

Even as India observes ‘Janata Curfew’ on Sunday – a call made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi – to stem the spread of novel Coronavirus, reports and pictures of a large gathering in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday was met with exasperation and dismay, as the enormity of the situation getting lost may prolong the country’s efforts.

In India over 300 cases of coronavirus have been reported as the number is increasing every hour. States have started shutting down their borders on Sunday amid calls by health experts to ramp up the measures to stop community transmission and aid medical services and other relief services during this pandemic.

Photos of a traditional procession ‘Arattu’, which was organised at Malayinkeezhu Sree Krishna Swami Temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, witnessed thousands of people, which could jeopardize the health of hundreds at this point of time. Calls of social distancing, self-isolation and quarantine have been doing the rounds on social media and the news channels and newspapers as these unprecedented times demand these urgent measures.

‘Cops had no clue of such large gathering’: Aakash Chopra

Police have launched an investigation into the matter. Former India batsman expressed his disappointment on micro-blogging site Twitter and wrote: “Police probing the matter?? It means cops had no clue of such a large gathering…. slow clap”

Police probing the matter?? It means cops had no clue of such a large gathering…. slow clap 👏 https://t.co/2xdOBY9v3p

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 21, 2020

In Kerala, 40 positive cases of coronavirus have been reported so far out of which 33 are Indians and 7 foreign nationals. Amid the spread of this novel virus, doctors and other health experts have urged people to maintain social distance, wash their hands regularly and stop touching their eyes and faces as those are one of the main reasons of how the virus is spreading from people to people.

To break the spread of the virus effectively and reverse the upward swing in the number of cases, there’s an urgent need to follow self-isolation and quarantine methods. Over 3 lakh cases and 13,000 deaths have been reported so far worldwide.