Kerala imposes weekend curfew amid COVID surge; cinemas, malls, bars, pools, gyms shut

Tackling the rise in COVID cases, Kerala govt on Monday, issued fresh guidelines regarding curbs in the state. All cinema halls, malls, gyms, clubs, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks & bars to remain shut till further orders, said CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Imposing a weekend curfew, Kerala has allowed only essential services and emergency services on Saturday and Sunday. Kerala has 2,19,221 cases and 11,81,324 and     5110 fatalities.

Kerala imposes COVID curbs

• Upto 50 people allowed in religious places of worship with two-meter distance between visitors
• All cinema halls, malls, gyms, clubs, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks & bars to remain shut.
• Essential services & emergency services allowed to move on May 1 & 2 for election-related works. All involved must carry final vaccination certificate or negative RT-PCR test taken 72 hours ago
• Upto 50 people allowed in marriages
• Shops and restaurants to be closed by 7:30 PM amd home delivery allowed till 9 PM
• All primary sector activities including agriculture, plantation, animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries, forestry, MSMEs and constructions shall take place as per COVID protocols

Kerala reports 21,890 COVID cases

On Monday,  Kerala reported 21,890 fresh COVID-19 cases, including 70 health workers, and 28 related deaths on Monday, taking the total caseload to 14.27 lakh and the toll to 5,138. As many as 7,943 people were cured of the infection, taking the total number of recoveries to 11,89,267. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a total of 96,378 samples were tested on Monday, taking the overall number to 1,52,13,100. The test positivity rate stood at 22.71 percent, he said.

Among the districts, Kozhikode reported the highest number of 3,251 cases, followed by Ernakulam with 2,515 and Malappuram with 2,455. Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram recorded 2,416 and 2,272 cases respectively. Vijayan said the new strains of the virus are being widely detected in the current wave of the pandemic and added that the health department was closely monitoring the situation. Studies show that the new strains, which spread faster, is there in 40 percent of the affected people. Currently, there are 2,32,812 people under treatment in the state. There are 4,98,196 people under observation in the state, out of which 20,418 are in isolation wards of various hospitals.