Kerala eases virus restrictions further after slight dip in infections

Ashraf Padanna, Correspondent

Kerala, which accounts for more than half of India’s active caseload, has eased the COVID-19 restrictions further following a slight dip in positivity rate.

The hotels and restaurants can allow dine-in for adults having two doses of vaccine and people aged below 18 years employing staff who also had received both the jabs.

The hotels, restaurants, clubs and bars can operate with maximum utilisation of 50 per cent of the seating capacity.

Air conditioning in these places shall not be permitted and windows and doors shall be kept open, as far as possible, to ensure ventilation.

The restrictions for entry are not applicable to those who are below 18 years of age as they are not eligible for vaccination at present. The indoor stadia and swimming pools can also entertain customers if they meet similar conditions and ensure "COVID-appropriate behaviour.”

The southern state logged 16,671 more cases and 120 deaths on Saturday with a test positivity rate of 14.54 per cent against the national average of 1.86 per cent.

It remains the most affected state in India with 4.6 million cases after the much bigger state of Maharashtra which had 6.5 million patients since the pandemic outbreak.

Kerala reported India’s first case of the infection when a medical student returned from the Chinese epicentre of Wuhan tested positive for the virus on January 30 last year.

"We have given at least one dose of the vaccine to more than 91 per cent (of adults) and 39 per cent have got both,” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters.

"There was also a sharp decrease in hospitalisations and the rate of reinfection is also on the decline. So we thought it’s time we eased the restrictions further.”