Actor Rahul Roy joins BJP

Thiruvananthapuram, May 24: Keralites on Sunday celebrated a low-key Eid-ul-Fitr amid the coronavirus lockdown in the state as most of the faithful marked the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan by offering thanksgiving prayers at home.

The festival is being celebrated across Kerala and Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, while the rest of the country will celebrate Eid on Monday.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan extended Eid-ul-Fitr greetings to all Keralites across the world.

State Governor Arif Mohammed Khan also extended his festival wishes to all the Keralites.

"May we also have the blessing to prevent and eliminate the COVID-19 disease," Khan tweeted.

Vijayan said this year Ramzan is celebrated at a time when the world is going through "an unprecedented crisis and misery" because of pandemic COVID-19.

"Usual celebration during Ramzan is not there anywhere in the world due to the pandemic. Instead of offering prayers at mosques, which is important for Muslims, this time the prayers and the feast is performed in their homes.

Community leaders have taken this important decision to protect the interests of the society" he added.

The chief minister said Eid-ul-Fitr gives out a message of equality, tolerance and repentance.

The state government had earlier announced that the lockdown restrictions in the state onSunday will be relaxed in the view of Eid-ul-Fitr with shops selling essential items remaining open.

The State government had earlier declared that a complete shutdown would be observed in Kerala on Sundays in order to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

Jakarta, Mar 15: Indonesia's transport minister is in intensive care after testing positive for the novel coronavirus, an official has said, as schools and tourist attractions were ordered to close over the health threat.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi was receiving treatment at an army hospital in Jakarta, State Secretary Pratikno said on Saturday.

A hospital spokesman said Sumadi was encountering difficulty breathing but that his condition was improving.

Pratikno said Sumadi was involved in virus mitigation efforts, particularly the evacuation of Indonesians from epicenters of the outbreak, and that President Joko Widodo had called for tests to be carried out on other ministers.

Cases of the virus in Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, have jumped from zero two weeks ago to 96, with five deaths, according to government spokesperson Achmad Yurianto.

He also said the virus has spread outside Greater Jakarta to Bandung in West Java, Solo in Central Java, Manado in North Sulawesi, Pontianak in West Kalimantan, as well as holiday havens Yogyakarta and Bali.

Following the increase, the government on Saturday established a task force on COVID-19 mitigation.

Jakarta's Governor Anies Baswedan announced that schools would close for two weeks starting Monday, and ordered the closure of city-owned tourist attractions, such as Ragunan Zoo and Ancol beach.

He emphasized that Jakarta would not be locked down but urged people "to be responsible" and called for social distancing when possible.

Similarly, the administration of Solo, Central Java, Friday announced that schools and tourist attractions would close after a coronavirus patient died in the region.

The World Health Organization has said it is particularly concerned about high-risk nations with weaker health systems, which who may lack the facilities to identify cases.

A day after declaring the coronavirus outbreak to be pandemic this week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called Indonesia's president Widodo and both agreed to "scale up cooperation."