Keeping in mind the increase in COVID-19 cases and people flouting lockdown guidelines, the Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced a complete state-wide lockdown on Wednesday for July 24 (Saturday) and July 25 (Sunday). The administration also directed people to follow the COVID-19 guidelines issued on June 12 and 13 from Thursday, a day after the Bakrid celebrations.
The state government’s order read as, “Exemptions and restrictions already applicable to the respective category areas will continue. No additional relaxations shall be granted anywhere under any circumstances.”
It further added, “There will be complete lockdown on 24th and 25th July 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) with the same guidelines as issued for 12th and 13th June 2021.”
The government also instructed the Health and Family Welfare Department to carry a mass testing campaign on Friday, July 23, with a target of 3 lakh tests across the state, focusing on districts where the seven-day average COVID positivity rate is above 10 percent.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Kerala recorded 17,481 fresh COVID-19 cases and 105 deaths, pushing the numbers to 32,05,197 and 15,617 respectively.
The test positivity rate (TPR) remained close to 12 percent for the second consecutive day with three districts of the State reporting more than 2,000 cases.
According to the official press release, as many as 14,131 people have been cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 30,59,441 and active cases to 1,29,640 to date.
Some of the worst affected districts are Malappuram (2,318), Ernakulam (2,270), Kozhikode (2,151), Thrissur (1,983), Palakkad (1,394), Kollam (1,175), Thiruvananthapuram (1,166), Kottayam (996), and Alappuzha (969).
Source: dnaindia.com