Night curfew in Kerala from Tuesday amid surge in coronavirus cases

Night curfew for two weeks will be imposed in Kerala amid the recent surge in COVID-19 cases across the state.

The decision was taken by a core committee of COVID-19 management headed, by the Kerala Chief Secretary, on Monday.

"Restriction on non-essential activities and movement at night between 9pm and 5 am shall come into force from 9 pm of April 20. No gatherings of any kind shall be permitted between 9 pm and 5 am. Essential services (medical stores, hospitals, fuel stations, night shift employees, milk, newspaper, media etc), goods transportation and public transportation are exempted from the night restriction," said the government order issued by the Chief Secretary.

The order said that tuition centers shall only function through online medium and should not hold physical classes while all malls and cinema theatres have been asked to reschedule their timings to close by 7.30 pm.

"All meetings, training events and other programs under allgovernment departments, organisations shall be held through the onlinemedium as far as possible. All places of worship must limit publicparticipation with a minimum number of priests, managers, and othersemployed in those places of worship. All regular worship and festivalsmay be broadcast online," the order said.

The government also decided that all government department tests will be postponed for two weeks. The Public Service Commission also will be requested to postpone all exams for two weeks.

"All shops, establishments, markets, etc. which are not adhering toCOVID-19 protocols shall be closed immediately for a period ofminimum two days. The Sectoral Magistrates and police will ensurethis. The number of days would depend on the severity of the violation," the order read.

A Special COVID-19 Protocol Enforcement Campaign will be held onTuesday and Wednesday across the state.

Restaurants shall restrict in-house dining to the barest minimum andfocus on home deliveries and take-aways which shall not be permittedbeyond 9 PM.

"All additional measures decided shall be in force for a period of two weeks and extension of the same shall be decided based on the pandemic scenario later," the order further said.

Earlier, on Sunday, the state government ordered that all domestic travellers visiting Kerala will have to undergo RT-PCR tests within 48 hours before or after the arrival.

Kerala reported 13,644 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, according to the state health bulletin on Monday evening. As many as 21 deaths were reported and 4,305 people recovered in the said period. Currently, the state has 1,03,004 active cases.