Complete lockdown in Kerala on July 24, 25

The Kerala government announced a complete state-wide lockdown on Wednesday for July 24 and July 25, with the same guidelines as issued for 12th and 13th June 2021, citing a spike in COVID-19 cases and individuals flouting lockdown restrictions (Sunday).

"There will be complete lockdown on 24th and 25th July 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) with the same guidelines as issued for 12th and 13th June 2021," the notification reads.

The administration also directed people to follow the COVID-19 guidelines issued on June 12 and 13 from Thursday, a day after the Bakrid celebrations.

District collectors are directed to identify and demarcate micro-containment zones in all districts, regardless of categorization of the Local Self Government Institution (LSGI) regions, and enforce special intensified stringent restrictions to bring down the new cases at the earliest.

It further said, "The health and family welfare department is directed to conduct a mass testing campaign on Friday, July 23, with a target of 3 lakh tests across Kerala with special focus on districts where the seven-day average Test Positivity Rate (TPR) is above 10 per cent."

This comes after the state government withdrew its state-wide lockdown on June 16 and gave a three-day relaxation in COVID-19 restriction for Bakrid, allowing textile shops, jewellery, footwear shops etc to open for three days from Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kerala reports 17,481 new Covid-19 cases, 14,131 recoveries, and 105 deaths today.

(With ANI Inputs)