Kerala High Court on Wednesday sought an explanation from the state government on the crowds seen in front of Kerala State Beverages Corporation (BevCo) outlets in the state as people queued up to purchase liquor.
The court asked the government to submit its explanation within a week.The court observed that "the crowds in front of liquor outlets amid the pandemic should not be neglected. The COVID-19 protocol is not followed in liquor outlets."
The High Court issued the direction while considering a petition seeking measures to control rush at liquor outlets. The Excise Commissioner was also directed to appear before the court.
Kerala on Tuesday reported 14,373 new COVID-19 cases and 142 deaths, said the state health department. The new cases spike was highest in 26 days.
As many as 10,751 persons recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 28,77,557. The new fatalities pushed the COVID death toll in Kerala to 13,960.
( With inputs from ANI )
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor