Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has made it clear that the restrictions that were being imposed on the basis of the COVID-19 Test Positivity Rate (TPR) in the state will not be lifted anytime soon. The CM conveyed this during the daily review meeting on the pandemic situation.

However, the CM stated that the reopening of textile shops will be considered.

Shopowners will have to make arrangements for adhering to the COVID protocol. A limited number of vaccinated staff could be deployed.

Moreover, studios will be allowed to function on select days of the week. This decision has been taken as those seeking to apply for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) need to provide their photographs.

The opening of vocational training institutes, without trainees, will also be considered.

Kerala recorded 22,129 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, pushing the total cases reported from the state so far to 33,05,245. With 156 deaths on account of COVID-19 being reported on Tuesday, the death toll from the pandemic has risen to 16,326.