Amid COVID-19 spike, Kerala to step up restrictions from Thursday

'Wider and faster,' Experts project likely impact of second COVID wave on Kerala
People gathered to see Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at an election campaign event in Adimaly in Idukki district. Many of them did not wear mask. Photo: Manorama

In view of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, the restrictions and safety measures in Kerala will be intensified from Thursday.

Kerala Police personnel have been instructed to ensure the use of masks in public spaces and to check if people are following the COVID-19 protocol.

The decisions were taken at the core committee meeting headed by the chief secretary in view of the rising number of coronavirus positive cases in the state. The test positivity rate has been above 5 per cent in the past few days.

With the Assembly elections over on Tuesday, it was also decided to ask all polling agents to immediately undergo a Covid test.

Around one lakh people have been asked to take the test in the coming days.

The authorities fear that things might take a turn for the worse, as the elections and the campaign saw huge crowds of people all across the state.

The meeting also decided to see that vaccination camps be set up and to see that in the next 45 days, all those above 45 years are vaccinated.

Moreover with the elections, the routine quarantine for all those arriving from outside the state was also not strictly enforced and from now, all visitors will have to ensure that they undergo the mandatory quarantine period without fail.

It was also decided to increase the number of RT-PCR tests.

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