Kerala announces guidelines during lockdown extension in concurrence with Central plans

*Liquor shops, Bars, Barber shops, Beauty Parlours & Gyms to remain closed

 Thiruvananthapuram, May 02: In view of the extension of the nationwide lockdown by two weeks, Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today announced new guidelines to be followed in the State. “These regional exemptions will be in concurrence with the general guidelines announced by the Central Government and the Government Order for the same would be issued today. All the details would be published on a separate website where people can check what is allowed and what is not in their specific area.”

 As per the norms of having no positive Covid-19 cases in the last 21 days, only Ernakulam district in Kerala would qualify to be in Green Zone. With a new case being reported today, the status of Wayanad district has changed from Green Zone to Orange Zone. Wayanad was earlier in the Green Zone list declared by the centre. With no Coronavirus patients under treatment, Alappuzha and Thrissur districts have moved to Green Zone. Kannur and Kottayam are under Red Zone. All the other districts in the State are in Orange Zone. The Chief Minister added that the zone list can change as per the change in the patient situation. The containment zones within Red Zones would have full lockdown with no exemptions.

 Public transport, public gathering, cinema theatres, religious places, events, malls, liquor shops, bars, barbershops, beauty parlours, gyms, educational institutions, etc will not be allowed to open across the State. Sundays will be a closed day for everything including vehicle movement.

 Government offices can function with 50% attendance of Group A & B employees and 33% attendance in Group C & D category staff. They can also provide non-essential services.

 In the Green zone, shops can be open between 7 am and 7.30 pm all six days of the week while in Orange zone, the present timings would continue. Taxi services can operate two passengers. Inter-district travel may be permitted for a maximum two persons between 7 am and 7.30 pm.

 The CM also announced the formation of ward and district level monitoring committees to monitor senior citizens, the sick, and those under quarantine after returning from abroad or outside the State.

 He also informed that a decision on bringing back the Malayalees stranded in other States will be taken soon. “The State Government is ready to receive the Pravasi Malayalees as and when the Centre decides to bring them back. All arrangements are in place for the pravasis, both from within and outside the country”, he added. He also welcomed the decision of the Centre to run special non-stop trains to transport the guest workers to their native States.

 Minister of Health & Social Justice, Smt K K Shailaja; Revenue Minister, Shri E Chandrasekharan, and Chief Secretary, Shri Tom Jose IAS were also present during the media briefing.

Kerala Covid-19 Tracker

Eight recoveries & Two new cases today, total 96 patients under treatment

Thiruvananthapuram, May 02: Two new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Kerala today, one each from Wayanad and Kannur districts. One of them has come back from outside the State and the other is a case of local transmission. With a new case being reported, the status of Wayanad district has changed from Green Zone to Orange Zone.

 Meanwhile, eight patients under treatment for Coronavirus infection have tested negative in the State today. Six patients from Kannur district and two in Idukki district are those who have recovered from the disease.

 Till date, there are 499 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Kerala and 96 patients are under treatment in different districts in the State.

 There are 21,894 persons are under surveillance in various districts across the State. Out of these, 21,484 persons are under observation at their homes and 410 are quarantined in hospitals. 80 people were hospitalised today. So far, 31,183 samples have been sent for testing and 30,358 samples have shown no infection. 2,093 samples from people in the high-risk group were collected separately and tested, and so far, 1,234 samples have tested negative.

 Currently, there are 38 patients under treatment for Covid-19 in Kannur district, 18 in Kottayam district, and 12 each in Kollam and Idukki districts.

 Presently, there are 80 hotspots in the State now, 23 places in Kannur district, and 11 each in Kottayam and Idukki districts.

 These details were announced by the Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today during his daily briefing about the Covid-19 situation in the State.

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