Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday claimed that people’s complacency had led to a rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the state, News18 reported.

Till Monday morning, the state had reported 25,911 Covid-19 cases. This included 11,366 active cases, 14,463 recoveries and 82 deaths.

“After a point, there has been complacency in our part that has led to the spread of the virus,” Vijayan said at the inauguration of 102 online family health centres in the state. “There has been some compromise or some complacency in some places. We are bringing a change to that. Stringent measures will be implemented. There will be some complaints but to control the pandemic it is very important to take precaution so that the spread does not happen.”

“We had taken all the precautions earlier but due to several reasons, which I am not going into now, a message was sent to the people that this [the pandemic] is not a big issue,” Vijayan added. “We should remember with guilt that this has led to today’s situation. At least those responsible should remember it with guilt.”

He urged people of the state to maintain physical distancing and abide by the quarantine rules and guidelines.

India recorded 52,972 new coronavirus cases on Monday, taking the total number to more than 18 lakh. There are now 18,03,695 confirmed cases of the virus in the country, of which 11,86,203 patients have been discharged. The toll rose by 771 to 38,135.

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