Kerala announces complete lockdown on July 17 and 18

Thiruvananthapuram: A day after traders in Kozhikode came out in protest against the continued COVID-19 restrictions in Kerala, a few more relaxations have been allowed by the government. However, these are not much more than the existing allowances, taking into account the unreduced Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in the state. While COVID-19 cases have been steadily declining in the rest of the country, the percentage of infected people has remained more or less the same in Kerala for months now.

On Wednesday morning, Kerala Chief Secretary VP Joy, released additional guidelines for lockdown in the state, to be implemented from July 15.

The present categorisation of Local Self Government Institutions (LSGIs) shall continue. Categorisation is based on the TPR recorded in a particular area. Exemptions and restrictions already applicable to the respective category will continue.

Shops in categories A, B and C of the LSGIs will be allowed to open till 8 pm on the days they have already been allowed to open (allowing a half an hour increase in closing time). Collectors of respective districts can declare micro-containment zones and implement specific restrictions in categories after analysing the TPR of that area.

Banks will work on all weekdays and be open to the public for transactions. However it shall remain closed to the public on weekends. On July 17, Saturday, it will be a holiday for banks and other financial institutions under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

There will be complete lockdown on Saturday and Sunday - July 17 and 18 - as exercised in the past few weekends.

A day after recording a slightly lesser TPR of 9.14, the number of COVID-19 cases has again increased on Tuesday. There were 14,539 cases reported on Tuesday, out of the 1,39,049 samples tested. This means that the TPR has once again risen above 10, to 10.46. Targeted testing has been cited as a reason by authorities for the stagnant TPR. Delay in reaching herd immunity has also been cited as a reason, since Kerala still has a majority of its population not infected by the coronavirus.