Kerala to impose lockdown from May 8 till May 16; check details

The newly-elected government in Kerala has decided to impose lockdown from 6 am on May 8 till May 16 as coronavirus cases continue to rise in the state amid the second wave.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Thursday the state will go into lockdown from May 8-May 16. Kerala is one of the worst affected states due to Covid-19. On Wednesday alone, Kerala recorded 58 deaths, 41,953 confirmed cases, and 23,106 recoveries. The active caseload in the state stands at 3,75,658. The state saw the highest single day spike in Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

Ernakulam district topped with 6,558 new cases followed by Kozhikode (5,180), Malappuram (4,166), Thrissur (3,731), Thiruvananthapuram (3,727) and Kottayam (3,432), the government data available till May 5 shows.

The decision to impose lockdown was taken after the state government on Wednesday decided to strengthen the anti-COVID measures by deploying medical students and government officials to tackle the situation on the ground. Describing the situation as serious, Vijayan said instructions will be given to strengthen the ward level committees and rapid response teams by incorporating the medical students from the areas.

Besides, the returning officers, all other officials who participated in the Assembly election process, will also be included in such committees and teams, he told reporters. "The State is going through a very serious situation and COVID is spreading rapidly.All figures are increasing and the test positivity rate is not reducing either.In these circumstances, we need to strengthen the restrictions," Vijayan said.

He said in view of the rise in the cases, more stringent measures will have to be taken to curb the surge in the state where severe lockdown-like restrictions were already in force. "Oxygen stock is decreasing very rapidly. In this scenario, we need the Centres help in maintaining adequate stock of oxygen.I have requested the Prime Minister to provide 1,000 MT of imported liquefied medical oxygen to the state," he said.

He urged the centre to allot 500 MT as the first instalment from the current import quota. He also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the state should be allotted 50 lakh doses of Covishield vaccine and 25 lakh doses of Covaxin.

Also read: Coronavirus in India: Record 4.12 lakh new COVID-19 cases in a day, deaths near 4,000

Also Read: COVID-19 in India: Maharashtra, Delhi, UP, 7 other states account for 75% of new cases

Also Read: India could suffer world's highest COVID-19 death toll: report