Thiruvananthapuram: The bars in the state are unlikely to open any time soon. 

The government has said the bars should not be opened immediately as COVID-19 continues to spread rapidly in the state. It has rejected the Excise Commissioner's recommendation that bars should be allowed to open with COVID restrictions.

A suggestion of the Excise Commissioner forwarded to the Tax Secretary to allow opening of bars, and beer and wine parlours in the State, was submitted to the chief minister with the recommendation of the Excise Minister. The Excise Department was in the hope that an order allowing opening of the bars would be issued soon by the government.

Currently, there are only parcel sales through special counters in bars and beer parlours. Customers can collect the parcels only by making a booking through the BevQ app, which was launched during the COVID-19 lockdown to control the crowds at alcohol outlets.