Thiruvananthapuram, The Kerala unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Friday strongly objected to opening of places of worship and malls in the state.

The IMA has objected to the statement of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that they will be opened following the guidelines of the Centre. The opening of these places is expected from June 8.

"The examples of various countries are before us, where lockdown norms were eased. We should learn from what happened there and ensure that all have to follow guidelines, especially when we see many people not wearing masks properly and refraining from maintaining social distancing," said State IMA president Abraham Varghese.

"Now the state is seeing an influx of our people from abroad and from within the country in large numbers. On the one side, the number of positive cases is growing, likewise now there are several cases where the source of the coronavirus among positive cases is identified. This is a sign of community spread. Hence at this juncture opening of places of worship and malls is a serious threat," added Varghese.

Since May 7 when international flights carrying the Kerala diaspora began, there has been a spike in fresh cases with the tally touching 1588.