Kerala Government's Swearing-In Thursday, "Restricted To 500 Invitees"

The swearing-in ceremony of the Kerala government is taking place amid a lockdown, which is in force till May 23, due to a rise in coronavirus cases in the state.

The newly-elected CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government in Kerala will be sworn-in on Thursday at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, with number of invitees restricted to 500, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Kerala had an opportunity to conduct a virtual swearing-in ceremony as IMA had advised & set a good example.While the state is under lockdown, conducting a function with 500 people in one place is not in the right spirit! This also involves each MLAs travelling to participate. https://t.co/rWyclpOCf9 The ceremony is taking place amid a lockdown in the state which is in force till May 23 and four districts, including Thiruvananthapuram, under a stricter "triple lockdown" due to rising number of coronavirus cases. "Last time the swearing-in ceremony was witnessed by 40,000 people. But this time, because of the COVID-19, the invitees have been restricted to 500, including 140 MLAs, 20 MPs, with COVID-19 protocols in place," the chief minister said. The Kerala chapter of the Indian Medical Association had recently appealed to the state government to hold an online or virtual swearing-in ceremony since Kerala is battling a severe COVID-19 second wave.