Seven fresh cases of
COVID-19 were reported from Kerala on Thursday even as the state government decided to implement the guidelines issued by the Centre on the lockdown.
A complete shutdown will be followed in the areas marked as COVID-19 hotspots and inter-state, inter-district travel will not be allowed,Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here.
From April 20 odd-even number scheme for vehicles would be followed in the state, he said
However, there will be no public transport till May 3 and malls, cinema houses and religious places would continue to remain shut, he added.
Seven fresh coronavirus cases were reported on Thursday, while 27 people were cured taking the total number of recovered patients in the state to 245.
Kasaragod in the state reported the highest number of cured cases on Thursday---24 and one case each were cured from Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kannur districts, Vijayan said after the daily evaluation meet on COVID-19.
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"As of now, the state has 147 active cases and at least 88,855 are under observation.Five of those affected had come from abroad, while two have got it through contact with infected people.
Till now, 17,400 samples have been sent for testing," Vijayan said.
The state has reported 394 coronavirus cases.
Whilepointingthat the government had some reservations on centre's classification of hotspots, he said Kerala would seek permission to consider the four northern districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram, which account for 123 cases, as one hotspot region.
"Complete lockdown needs to be implemented till May 3 in these four districts considering the number of positive cases when compared to the rest of the state," Vijayan said.
Kasaragod has the highest number of 57 cases followed by neighbouring Kannur with 47 cases.
Kozhikode and Malappuram has 11 and eight cases respectively.
The second region would comprise Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam with five, six and three cases respectively.
Complete lockdown will continue in these districts till April 24 and restrictions will be relaxed after taking stock of the situation, Vijayan said.
Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Wayanad districts have been included in the third region and certain relaxations will be allowed after April 20 so that at least normal life can be resumed in a partial manner, Vijayan said.
Partial relaxation does not include public gathering or opening of malls, cinema theatres or places of worship.
Certain shops and hotels will function till 7 PM, Vijayan added.
The two districts of Kottayam and Idukki, considered as regionfour, do not have a single positive case reported for last 14 days but their borders will remain closed and there will be certain relaxations for partial resumption of normal life, he said.
"These relaxations does not mean that people can resume their normal way of life.Easing of lockdown protocol will be in accordance with strict health precautions.
People should use masks and the establishments should provide sanitisers and hand wash facilities," the chief minister said.
He also said that industrial sector can function with 50 per cent of staff and should implement "shifts" for the staff.
Vijayan added that the companies must either provide accommodation for the staff or transportation facilities.
The state government has also decided to restart the construction sector with stringent conditions including health precautions including social distancing.
"Those offices and establishments which will reopen after the lockdown period requires to be disinfected before functioning and the locality must also be cleaned.
The local self government institutions can make use of the guest workers who are presently jobless for the Haritha Karma Sena functions," Vijayan said.
"From April 20, the state government proposes to implement the odd-even number scheme for vehicles to ply in the state.
But there will some relaxation in the case of women-driven vehicles," Vijayan said.
He also asked those who recovered from COVID-19, to remain quarantined at home for 14 days.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Police on Thursday registered 2,941 cases, arresting 2,863 people and 2,048 vehicles for violating lockdown norms.
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