Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday went on self-quarantine and several key members of his Cabinet too followed suit.
His office said health experts had advised Mr. Vijayan to isolate himself after several senior officers who led the rescue operations at the site of the air crash in Karipur airport in Kozhikode had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar, Ports Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran, Transport Minister A.K. Saseendran, Local Administration Minister A.C. Moideen, Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel, Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan, Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta, and State Police Chief Loknath Behera had accompanied Mr. Vijayan to the crash site and interacted with local people and rescue workers.
Mr. Vijayan had visited the disaster site in the company of Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan, Health Minister K.K. Shylaja, and Mr. Moideen. The Ministers have isolated themselves and will work from home.
The Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said Mr. Vijayan would skip the Independence Day parade here on Saturday.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran would hoist the national flag and deliver the Independence Day address in his stead.
Governor Arif Muhammad Khan had headed the delegation. The Raj Bhavan said Mr. Khan had limited public interaction and was confined to his official residence mostly.
Mr. Vijayan would work from his official residence here at Cliff House.
A government official said the Ministers were expected to go into self-isolation and work from home. Mr. Behera and Mr. Mehta were likely to go into self-quarantine and work from home.
The CMO indicated that it would soon announce arrangements for the Independence Day parade in other districts in the absence of several Ministers.
