Kerala relaxes Covid curbs: Shops can open for 6 days, weekend lockdown only on Sunday
Kerala will impose a triple lockdown for shops at places where our 10 people in a population of 1,000 are infected in a week
The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to relax certain lockdown norms in areas where Covid-19 cases are showing a stabilising trend.
In a statement, health minister Veena George said that a triple lockdown would be imposed for shops at places where our 10 people in a population of 1,000 are infected in a week.
"In other places, shops will be allowed to operate six days in a week considering the current general situation in the state and the progress of the vaccination," she said.
The timings have also been increased and shops can now stay open from 7 am till 9 pm. Weekend lockdown will only be imposed on Sundays now.
George said that the shops would also be allowed to function on 15 and 22 August, although these are Sundays, in consideration with the Independence Day and Oman rush.
"The hospital occupancy and ICU occupancy have decreased in the state now-a--days. That means, the severity of the disease is decreasing," she pointed out.
However, the minister urged the business establishments to make special arrangements to avoid crowding and ensure social distancing on their premises.
Meetings would be held with local self-government bodies, police and traders in this regard, she added.
Noting that the practice of avoiding political, cultural and social gatherings, which used to attract huge crowds, should be continued, George said people should visit the places of worship considering their area and space.
A maximum of 40 people can visit the places of worship which are generally spacious, while up to 20 people can attend weddings and funerals.
The LDF government had been facing severe criticism from the opposition parties and traders in the state for some time over its continuing pandemic-induced curbs.
Central team recommendations
The central multi-disciplinary teams that recently visited Kerala to review the Covid-19 situation emphasised the need for enhancing testing, contact tracing, enforcing containment measures and establishment of adequate healthcare infrastructure to curbs the virus spread.
"Proper hospital infrastructure like ICU and ventilator beds need to be augmented on an urgent basis. Paediatric Care facilities especially paediatric ICU beds also need to be augmented," they pointed out, reported news agency ANI.
The team has also been recommended that clusters and super events, whenever suspected or reported should be investigated by District level RRT.
Covid situation in state
Kerala recorded 23,676 new Covid-19 cases and 148 deaths on Tuesday.
According to the state bulletin, 15,626 people recovered cases in the 24 hours period, taking the cumulative recoveries to 32,58,310.
At present, the total Covid-19 active cases in the state are 1,73,221.
As many as 1,99,456 samples were tested in the last 24 hours and a positivity rate of 11.87% was recorded.
A total of 17,103 people have succumbed to the disease so far.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaKerala relaxes Covid curbs: Shops can open for 6 days, weekend lockdown only on Sunday
First Published:4 Aug 2021, 02:27 PM IST
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