Kerala extends Covid lockdown till May 30, triple lockdown to continue only in Malappuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government has decided to extend the lockdown enforced in the state till May 30. While the triple lockdown clamped in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur will be withdrawn from Saturday, but it will remain in force in Malappuram due to the high test positivity rate (TPR) in the district.

Addressing the media, CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday said the TPR in the state has shown progress except Malappuram where the TPR is still above 25%. The average TPR in the state for the last three days was 23.3% while it has come down to 23.18% on Friday. The transmission rate has not come down in Malappuram where the police force has to be more vigilant. ADGP (law and order) would review the situation in Malappuram by visiting the place and an IG would lead the enforcement measures by camping there, he said.

Though there was a drop in the number of cases, Friday recorded the highest death of 142 people and  29,673 new Covid cases out of 1,33,558 tests conducted. This took the total number of active cases to 3,06,346, while the number of recoveries were 41.038. According to experts, the rise in deaths would be continued in the coming weeks as well, as the highest number of Covid cases in the second wave was recorded on May 12 with 43,529 cases.

“The infection for the deaths being reported now might have happened two to six weeks ago and due to this, the number of deaths continues to increase, even as the cases started to drop, he said. The next three weeks would also be crucial for the state as the dengue fever which used to witness a rise significantly in the gap of 3-4 years is expected to rear its head this year. The state last witnessed widespread dengue fever in 2017 and there is a possibility for dengue outbreak this year especially when the south west monsoon is round the corner. So the state has decided to observe dry days on Sundays from this week onwards,” he said.

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The state has been in consultation with the experts in the vaccine manufacturing sector in order to produce the Covid vaccine domestically. The state is mainly exploring the possibility of opening the branches of vaccine manufacturing companies in the Institute of Advance Virology campus. 

A webinar will be conducted inviting experts from this sector, Kerala State Council for Science - Technology and Environment and virology institute to think about the proposal. The state would also ensure the availability of medicine for the black fungus treatment and hold an awareness drive. 

Kerala has ordered 50,000 doses of anti-Covid therapeutic application of the drug 2-DG developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) for which the permission of the Drug Controller General was granted. The state is hopeful of reducing over dependency on medical oxygen by giving this medicine to patients with less severity, he said.

Here are some of the government decisions in the wake of the lockdown

• State to make arrangements for starting new crop season; those who go for farm works and sowing should keep a self-attested affidavit
• District collectors were directed to ensure the availability of essentials in Adivasi colonies
• The test book distribution process for the next academic year would be included in the essential services
• State would make arrangements for those who require vaccination to go abroad for job or study purposes. If needed, the state government would provide the passport number in the certificate.
• No restrictions for holding construction works in containment zones. The shops which sell the construction materials can now open shops
• The registration of Pravasi dividend scheme started

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