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Covid-19 outbreak: Eateries to open in 10 Kerala districts
Out of Kerala’s 14 districts, four -- north Kerala’s Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram -- are in the red zone with the bulk of infections.
Hotels and restaurants will open in 10 districts of Kerala on Monday after nearly a month of lockdown as the coastal state prepared to get its economy back on track after successfully controlling the spread of Covid-19.
Out of Kerala’s 14 districts, four -- north Kerala’s Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram -- are in the red zone with the bulk of infections. Eight, including state capital Thiruvananthapuram, are in the orange zone with few cases and two are in the green zone with no cases. The relaxations will be applicable to the orange and green zones only, said state authorities.
From Monday, restaurants and hotels in these two zones will remain open until 7pm and some private vehicles allowed on the streets but no overcrowding will be permitted. “People will have to keep it in mind it is a temporary arrangement so we expect responsible behaviour from them. We will keep a strict eye. We advise people to come out if it is necessary only,” said state director general of police Loknath Behra.
On Sunday evening, many hotels in Thiruvananthapuram were seen making arrangements for the opening and said they needed a day to collect food and other essentials things. “For batter and dough we need time. It is good that social life is slowly picking up. At the same time we are aware of the norms and constraints,” said a spokesman of the district hoteliers and restaurant owners’ association. The establishments had shut on March 25 when a nationwide lockdown was imposed.
Police said only three passengers will be allowed in a car, including the driver, and no pillion riding will be permitted on two-wheelers. The government has also allowed farming, food processing units, construction, road construction and traditional sectors like handloom, coir and beedi to work, without crowding.
The state reported two new cases of coronavirus, which took the total number of infections in the state to 401, state health minister K K Shailaja said. Out of the 401, 270 have been discharged while 129 people are in different hospitals, she said in a statement. A total of 55,590 people are now under observation, down from almost 200,000 at one point.
