Kerala issues fresh COVID guidelines, allows 50% seating capacity at bars & restaurants

Amid the ongoing COVID-19 surge, the Kerala government has been taking stringent measures to mitigate the spread of the virus. The Pinarayi Vijayan government on Saturday issued a fresh set of guidelines to curb the COVID spread. While some strict restrictions have been announced, the LDF government has also given relief to restaurant, hotel and bar owners, by allowing them to operate at 50% capacity, with fully vaccinated staff. 

In the fresh guidelines, the government reversed its order issued last month, except its rules on the movement of people who have not taken at least one dose of the COVID vaccine/are not in possession of the RT-PCR test report. The order has been withdrawn now.

Fresh COVID-19 Guidelines

The government has permitted in-house dining for hotels, restaurants, and bars, and they will be allowed to function with 50% seating capacity. Meanwhile, the government has placed the requirement that the staff members of those places should be fully vaccinated. The air conditioning in hotels/ bars/ restaurants will be not allowed due to fear of COVID spread. 

Apart from this, indoor stadiums and swimming pools can be opened for people who are vaccinated with both doses of the COVID vaccine. However, people below 18 years of age will not be allowed to enter the establishments.

COVID situation in Kerala

On Saturday, Kerala reported 16,671 new COVID cases and 120 deaths, bringing the total number of cases to 46,13,964 and the death toll to 24,248. The state has tested 1,14,627 samples in the last 24 hours, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and there were 841 wards across 422 local self-government bodies with a weekly infection population ratio of more than 10%.

"There are currently 1,65,154 active COVID-19 cases in the state, with only 12.2 per cent admitted to hospitals," CM Vijayan told reporters. According to the State Health Department, Ernakulam district had the highest cases (2,500), followed by Thiruvananthapuram (1,961) and Thrissur (1,801).

Meanwhile, 14,242 people recovered from the disease on Saturday, bringing the total number of people who have been treated to 44,23,772. There are 4,73,920 people under surveillance, with 22,027 of them in isolation units at various hospitals.

With PTI Inputs

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