Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Friday, announced that the statewide lockdown will be extended until May 30. The triple lockdown previously imposed in the districts of Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, and Ernakulam will be withdrawn, while it would continue in the district of Malappuram due to high test positivity rates.
Lockdown in Kerala to be continued
In the routine press conference at 06.00 PM, Pinarayi Vijayan revealed that the triple lockdown in three districts was withdrawn as the test positivity and caseload has started showing signs of plummeting.
It was in earlier this month that the Kerala government decided to completely lock down the state to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The lockdown was initially scheduled to end on May 16, and it was later shifted to May 23. And now, the government has decided to continue the lockdown to slow down the spread of the pandemic. As a part of the statewide lockdown, essential services will be allowed to function, and hotels will be open for takeaways.
Triple lockdown in Malappuram
"The test positivity rates (TRP) in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, and Thrissur have now reached below 25 percent. However, TRP in Malappuram is still above 25 percent. Considering this, the government has decided to continue triple lockdown in Malappuram. Malappuram's TRP remains the highest in the state, at 28.75 percent. More stringent measures are needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the district. The Inspector General of Police will station in Malappuram to ensure that Covid lockdown measures are implemented," said Vijayan during the press conference.
On May 21, Kerala witnessed 29,673 fresh Covid cases, while the total number of recoveries are 41,032. 142 people succumbed to the pandemic today, the highest ever since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the health bulletin, there are currently 3,06,346 active cases in the state.
Meanwhile, the Kerala government has decided to distribute over 70,000 food kits to migrant laborers in the state.
