Kerala not to observe total lockdown on Sundays

The state government decided to lift the lockdown on Sundays and focus more on containment zones and hotspots. Till last week the state government had imposed severe restrictions on traffic movement and business activities on Sundays. However, after assessing the situation the government has decided to lift the total shutdown.

Though the decision comes at a time when the state is reporting more than 100 cases daily and the trend has been on for the last nine consecutive days, the officials say nearly 80-90 per cent cases are those pertaining to people coming from abroad and other states, there is no need for panic at this stage.

Earlier, the General Administration Department had warned of strict action against those violating lockdown norms on Sundays. The state police chief had also directed all district SPs and commissioners to deal

Kerala on Saturday recorded 195 Covid-19 cases, the highest spike in a single day since the onset of pandemic, even as 102 persons recovered from the disease.

sternly with those going against the restrictions announced by the government. However, the Chief Minister after reviewing the situation at a high level meeting here decided to lift the restrictions.

Meanwhile, as part of the Vande Bharat Mission 94 more flights are expected to bring Malayalis to Kerala in the coming days from Bahrain, Oman, UAE, Singapore and Malaysia.

These flights are scheduled to arrive between July 1 and July 15. The highest number of aircraft are from Oman and Bahrain.

The state is also scheduled to receive 111 chartered flights and 43 flights under the Vande Bharat Mission till June 30. The authorities have made elaborate arrangements in airports for Covid-19 tests in the wake of the arrival of NRKs.

All passengers will be subjected to antibody tests.

Those having any indication of IgM and IgG antibodies, will be referred for PCR test. People coming from abroad have been asked to go directly to their homes from airports after mandatory tests and screening. The home quarantine norms prescribed by the health department should be complied with strictly.

Kerala on Saturday recorded 195 Covid-19 cases, the highest spike in a single day since the onset of pandemic, even as

102 persons recovered from the disease.

Of the 195 cases, 118 came from abroad, 62 from other states and 15 contracted the infection through contact. So far, the state has reported 4,071 cases of which 1939 are active cases under treatment in various hospitals.

At present 1.67 people are under observation across the state including 1.65 lakh under home/institutional quarantine and

2,463 in hospitals.