Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 29 (IANS): On the eve of the Onam festival, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday asked the people to ensure that the festivities are kept within limits because of the rising Covid cases.

"Today the local infectees numbers are rising. In May and June, this was a phenomenon in other states and Kerala has reached that stage now. We have to ensure that numbers do not spike, and if it does then the mortality rates would go up. Hence all should see that there is nothing done during Onam, which might surge the spread," said Vijayan.

On Saturday 2,397 new Covid positive cases were recorded of which 2,317 were local infectees.

At present there are 23,277 positive cases, while 48,083 people have recovered. Across the state there are 1,95,927 people under observation, of which 19,105 are in hospitals. There are 589 hotspots in the state.

"It's common during Onam that people celebrate by visiting their near and dear ones. But this time it should be avoided and it is best that all should opt for online methods of communication. It should be noted that there should be no public events," added Vijayan.