Kerala relaxes COVID-19 lockdown phase-wise; dine-in restaurants to open in non-hotspots

In an attempt to provide relief amid the Coronavirus pandemic, the Kerala government has divided the state into four zones to lift lockdown restrictions in a staggered manner. These zones are namely - Red, Orange A, Orange B and Green.  In the Orange zones, the state government has allowed dine-in restaurants to remain operational till 7 am while take outs shall ply till 8 pm. 

While the government has permitted private vehicles to ply with an odd-even scheme with odd-numbered vehicles being permitted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while even-numbered vehicles being allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, it has, however, restricted the number of passengers to a maximum of two excluding the driver. The state government has also permitted barber shops to remain open on Saturday and Sunday, but without any air conditioning and only 2 people to wait at any given moment. 

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In the Green zones, the government has permitted all activities after April 20 except domestic or air travel, movement of passengers by train, and metro rail services. All educational institutions, cinema halls, malls, gyms, swimming pools, entertainment parks, and all religious places shall remain closed till the lockdown announced by the Prime Minister earlier. 

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Classification of districts

According to the classification, districts Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram have been categorised as the red zone and would remain under total lockdown until May 3. Further, Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Wayanad, and Thrissur, have been classified as Orange B category regions where the lockdown is likely to be removed from April 20 and will be given partial relaxation. The districts Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, and Kollam are categorised as Orange A regions where the lockdown will be partially relaxed from April 24.

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Meanwhile, districts Kottayam and Idukki have been classified under the Green category where the lockdown will be relaxed from April 20. Currently, a total of 395 cases have been identified in Kerala, out of which 255 have been reported to have recovered, while two people have died. The state has also reported more recovered cases than infected ones in a day, while the number of positive cases in a day has also dropped to single-digits. 

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