This weekend is a total lockdown in Kerala; strict curbs will remain in high TPR zones.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will go into total lockdown this weekend, July 10 and 11, in an effort to reduce the test positivity rate (TPR), which has long hovered around 10%.

Exams scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, however, will not be affected by the weekend lockdown.

Though private bus services will not be available, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will provide a skeletal service to those working in the essential services sector.

Those in the construction industry will also be permitted to work. They should, however, report their activities to the nearest police station.

TPR-based curbs will be maintained.
From Monday, strict restrictions on public activities will be imposed in areas with a TPR of more than 15%.
The most recent set of graded restrictions, announced for areas under the jurisdiction of local self-government bodies in Kerala based on the TPR obtained after tests for the COVID-19 disease, went into effect on Thursday.

Local governments with a TPR of 0 to 5% have been classified as A, those with a TPR of 5-10% as B, those with a TPR of 10-15% as C, and those with a TPR of 15% or higher as D.

The new restrictions and relaxations announced by the Kerala government in accordance with the above classification went into effect on Thursday, July 8.

Normal activities will be permitted in “A” category zones; partial lockdown will be implemented in “B” zones, lockdown in “C” category zones, and triple lockdown in “D” category zones.

Today is the Covid review meeting.

On Saturday evening, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will preside over a high-level Covid review meeting in Thiruvananthapuram.

Following the implementation of new restrictions and relaxations four days ago, the meeting will review the current Covid situation in the state.

More relaxations are likely to be announced by the State. The leaders will reconvene early next week to make a decision on this.

On Friday, there were 13,563 new cases.

On Friday, Kerala recorded 13,563 COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of cases reported in the state to 30,39,029.

Last week, Maharashtra and Kerala accounted for more than half of all COVID-19 cases reported in India.

A total of 29,11,054 people were cured of the infection, bringing the total number of recoveries to 10,545 people.

According to a press release from Health Minister Veena George, the number of active cases has reached 1,13,115. For the past nine days, the caseload has remained above one lakh.

To be addressed are gaps in the Covid control front.
The decision by the Centre to sanction Rs 23,123 crore for the health sector demonstrates that the government has learned valuable lessons from the widespread devastation caused by the second wave of COVID-19.
The Modi government was widely chastised for failing to mitigate the virus’s threat. As a result, hundreds of people died in India due to a lack of oxygen cylinders and hospital beds.

In light of this, the government has set aside funds ahead of time to focus on the development of health infrastructure facilities.

As part of the new package, the Centre has stated that 24 lakh additional beds will be established. In addition, 20,000 ICU beds would be installed. Twenty percent of the beds would be set aside for children.

The states would receive Rs 15,000 crore of the sanctioned amount. The central government will spend Rs 8,000 crore directly.

Aside from special treatment infrastructure, the Centre will bear the cost of developing storage facilities for oxygen and medicines.

The government has allocated Rs 23,123 crore for basic infrastructure development over a nine-month period.

This is the second time that such a large sum has been set aside to combat the crisis caused by Covid. The first lot’s sanctioned amount of Rs 15,000 crore was intended to strengthen Covid hospitals and treatment centres.