It will be a holiday for all government offices in Kerala this coming weekend – April 24 and 25, said a source at the Chief Secretary’s office. The decision comes after the single-day cases of COVID-19 in the state touched a new high of nearly 20,000 on Tuesday.
Among the other restrictions, the government also said that all summer camps will be cancelled. Online classes will continue in all educational institutions. Hostels too should follow COVID-19 protocols. However, wedding and housewarming ceremonies already registered with the COVID-19 Jagratha portal will be allowed.
All COVID-19 protocols should also be followed in beaches and parks. Police personnel and sectoral magistrates are to ensure this is done.
It was decided that ward-level committees of local bodies will be used for COVID-19 management. Volunteers will be deployed for COVID-19 management like last year, when the outbreak happened.
With the number of active cases increasing exponentially, the state shall set up more COVID First Line Treatment Centres (CFLTCs) for patients with mild symptoms. There will be special focus on migrant labourers and vaccination camps shall be arranged especially for them.
A special health task force will be formed to monitor infrastructure and capacity in health facilities across the state on a day to day basis.
The Chief Minister will hold a COVID-19 review meeting at 3.30 pm every day.
On Tuesday, the state reported 19,577 cases of COVID-19 after testing 1,12,221 samples in 24 hours. There are now 1,18,673 patients under treatment. The total number of people who have recovered from the disease so far is 11,48,671. The state has been able to keep the death rate low, at around 0.4%. There were 28 deaths reported due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, taking the toll to 4,978 in a little more than a year.