Kerala: Lockdown may continue beyond April 14, ‘relaxation’ only in name

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 17-member expert committee appointed by the state government has recommended a threephased lifting of the lockdown from April 14 but with the preconditions to qualify for Phase 1 so strict, and the relaxations themselves so nominal, that it would mean the lockdown will in effect continue after April 14, which is consistent with the approach of the Centre and several other states.
The report of the committee headed by former chief secretary K M Abraham and comprising eminent personalities and experts, accessed by TOI, says a phased withdrawal is sustainable only if there is a steady recovery and decline in the number of cases leading to initial flattening of the infection curve and then gradual tapering of the curve to zero infection.

In concrete terms, the report says that the first phase of relaxations can begin only if a district has no new case and no increase of more than 10% in the number of persons under home surveillance for the entire week prior to the date of review, a criteria that the current seven hotspot districts are unlikely to meet.
The proposals say that stringent regulations should be in force in the first phase, beginning with mandatory wearing of masks for anyone leaving their home. Air and rail movement to the state should not allowed in this phase while people from outside should not be permitted to enter the state.
The committee has recommended special regulations and restrictions for Covid-19 hotspots, by defining a hotspot as a cluster with five or more Covid-19 patients or 100 or more persons suspected of secondary contact (and are under home isolation) within a panchayat or a municipality ward. For such places, it says the entire panchayat or the ward should be cordoned off, and travel outside should be restricted. Cordoning off hotspots should be done along enforceable boundaries like rivers, bridges, roads etc. and not strictly along the duly notified boundary of the ward, as this could be difficult to administer.
The task force has also recommended that the government should advise people that they should be willing to undergo a complete lockdown again in the event of a resurgence. Even if the situation progressively improves, the committee has also given some general instructions till June 30. It says all persons permitted to come outside their house have to compulsorily wear a mask and the local selfgovernments should ensure that three-layer cloth masks are made available. If weddings are to be held, those concerned should get a permission from the local body while an undertaking should be given that the function will not be attended by more than 25 persons or the limit specified depending on the stage of the phasing down.
Air conditioning in all work areas -- including office spaces, personal cars and public transport -- should be disallowed. This, the committee says, is based on the epidemiological observations of the current global spread of Covid-19 that points to rapid virus spread in air-conditioned closed spaces.
However, in an internal analysis of the report in a secretaries’ meeting on Tuesday, many key departments have pointed out that many of these recommendations are impossible to implement in the practical sense. Some departments like health also took exception to the report, saying no inputs were sought from them while preparing it.