Lockdown in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has been extended till further notice, but with additional relaxations. However, triple lockdown will be in place in 18 coastal wards designated as 'critical containment zones' (CCZ).
The activities in 16 other wards declared as 'containment zones' (CZ), many of them within the city, will also be highly regulated. Only essential services will be allowed in these wards, and movement of people to and from these wards will be through a single point of entry and exit. The order was issued late on Tuesday (July 28), and will be in force from June 28 midnight.
Extension of the lockdown in the district was a foregone conclusion after cases continue to multiply. On Tuesday, too, there were 222 cases, the 15th consecutive day the district topped the list of fresh cases. It was also the day when a new industrial cluster was detected; 88 of the 300 people tested at the Kinfra ndustrial Park at Menamkulam were found infected.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said there was huge spread in the district. He said the rate of positivity in Thiruvananhapuram was the highest in Kerala. On average, a positive case is found in Kerala only when 36 tests are done. But in Thiruvananthapuram, a positive is detected in 18 tests; the all-India average is 12.
Relaxation in shop timings
As per the existing restrictions, all shops including groceries, bakeries and milk booths will be open in two slots adhering to COVID-19 protocols: from 7am to 11am, and then from 4pm to 6pm. Now, shops in non-containment zones will be allowed to remain open from 7am to 7pm at a stretch.
However, hyper markets, malls, salons, spas and beauty parlours will remain shut.
In the critical containment zones, grocery shops will be open only from 7am to 2pm.
Night curfew will be in force from 9pm to 6am in Thiruvananthapuram district. In containment zones, it will be from 7pm to 5am.
Nonetheless, there will be tighter restrictions in public offices. All government offices will be allowed to open but with only one-third staff. Till now, offices of secretaries to government, of departments of Home, Disaster Management, Health, Local Self-Government and NORKA will function with a maximum of 50 per cent staff.
Private offices can also function but with only 25 per cent staff.
Public utilities, including petrol bunks and power units, will also function. Hospitals, medical shops and labs, both in public and private sectors, will continue to function.
Public transport (including taxis and autorickshaws) will be allowed with 50 per cent carriage capacity in non-containment zones.
The revised lockdown order was issued by district collector Navjot Khosa on Tuesday.
CCZs and CZs
The CCZs are: Pallithura, Poundukadavu, Sanghumughom, Vallkkadavu, Vettukadu, Valiyathura, Muttathara, Beemapally, Beemapally East, Manikyavilakom, Puthenpally, Poonthura, Thiruvallom, Vellar, Harbour, Vizhnjam, Kottapuram and Mulloor.
The CZs are: Kazhakuttam, Cheruvaikkal, Ulloor, Powdikkonam, Njandoorkonam, Pattom, Muttada, Kudappanakkunnu, Kowdiar, Kunnukuzhy, Thycaud, Karamana, Venganoor, Chala,hampanoor and Kadakampally.
