A wedding ceremony held at Chengala panchayat of Kerala’s Kasaragod district earlier this month has become a cause for concern after 43 people who attended the function, including the bride and groom, have tested positive for coronavirus.
The Kasaragod District Collector has asked all those who were at the wedding to go into quarantine. The wedding was held on July 17 at a house in ward number four of Chengala panchayat in the district.
Deputy DMO Dr Manoj confirmed to TNM that both bride and groom have tested positive in the last few days and all those affected are undergoing treatment under various centres.
The district officials have still not zeroed in on how many people in total were there at the wedding.
“It looks like more than 50 people were there, but we think that all persons were not present together at a time since there are regulations that not more than 50 people should be present at weddings at a time,” said Dr Manoj.
The authorities are also not exactly clear about who was the source of infection. “Though that is not clear, it should be someone from the family where the wedding was held since these many people who visited have contracted the disease. Almost all the 43 people who have got the disease are relatives of the families,” he says.
Meanwhile, Kasaragod district authorities have initiated action against the organiser of the wedding, as per the Kerala Epidemic Diseases Ordinance, 2020.
“District Collector Dr Sajith Babu has directed the police to file a case as per the act amounting to a punishment of two years imprisonment and Rs 10,000 fine,” states a release by the Kasaragod district information office.
The Collector has also asked people to avoid holding functions where people tend to gather in the wake of a spike in COVID-19 cases.
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