With Covid-19 cases dipping, Kerala eases restrictions

With Covid-19 cases dipping, the Kerala government has decided to open zoos and museums across the state from September 14 after five months and asked government employees to attend their offices six days a week, officials said.

When cases peaked, government employees were directed to come to their offices on alternate days which was later increased to five days a week. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will chair the core committee meeting on the pandemic on Tuesday to announce more concessions, a spokesman of the government said. Hotel and bars are likely to be opened with strict restrictions, he said.

Meanwhile, the state reported 15,058 Covid-19 cases on Monday with a test positivity rate of 16.69 per cent after 91,885 samples were tested, said the state health ministry. It also reported 99 deaths, taking the total toll to 22,650 while active cases came down to 2,08,773. Among two lakh-odd patients, about 13 per cent are hospitalised and 40 per cent of the state’s ICU beds are vacant, it said.

Thrissur district reported the maximum number of cases with 2158 infections followed by Kozhikode at 1800 and Ernakulam at 1694 cases. Northern district Kasaragod reported the lowest with 452 cases. The state has vaccinated about 80 per cent of the eligible population, it said.

Covid-19 cases have started dipping in the last week after a peak. About two weeks back, the state reported 28,000 average cases weekly, contributing about 70 per cent of total cases. When in the rest of India cases shrunk considerably, in Kerala cases went up alarmingly affecting the national tally. Experts said cases will further stabilise by the month-end.