Covid-19 lockdown in Kerala: What's allowed, what's not

The Kerala government on Thursday announced a lockdown from May 8 to 16 in view of the surge in Covid-19 cases in the state.

A partial lockdown is currently in place in the state from Tuesday till Sunday.

Here is what is allowed during the lockdown, and what's not:

What is allowed:

1. Shops including ration shops (under PDS) dealing with food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, meat and fish, animal fodder, poultry, and cattle feed, bakeries will be open. However, district authorities may encourage and facilitate home delivery to minimise the movement of individuals outside their homes. All shops must be closed by 7:30 PM.

2. Banks, insurance, and financial services will be open from 10 AM to 1 PM.

3. Movement of volunteers connected with Covid-19 activities will be permitted.

4. Delivery of all essential goods including food, pharmaceutical, medical equipment through ecommerce, and home delivery will be allowed.

5. Petrol pumps, LPG, petroleum, and gas retail and storage outlets will be allowed to remain open.

6. Use of taxis and auto-rickshaws including Uber, Ola, etc will be permitted only for procurement of essential commodities, medicines, and for attending to medical emergencies as well as transport from/to airports and railway stations (with proof of ticket).

7. Print and electronic media will be allowed to operate.

8. Telecommunications, internet services, broadcasting, and cable services will continue.

9. IT and IT-enabled services will remain open.

What's not allowed:

1. Offices of the Government of India, its autonomous and subordinate offices, and public corporations will remain closed, with certain exceptions.

2.Offices of the Government of Kerala, its autonomous and subordinate offices, and public corporations will remain closed, with certain exceptions.

3. Industrial establishments will remain closed, with exceptions to manufacturing units of essential commodities, production units that require continuous process 24x7, and units manufacturing medical supplies including medical oxygen cylinders.

4. All roadways and waterways transport services will remain suspended. However, air and rail services (except metro) will remain operational.

5. Hospitality services will remain suspended, with certain exceptions.

6. All educational, training, research, coaching institutions, etc will remain closed.

7. All places of worship will be closed for the public.

8. All social/political/sports/entertainment/academic/cultural/religious gatherings will be barred.

The government said that exceptions to the containment measures have been allowed, the organisation/employers must ensure necessary precautions against Covid-19, as well as physical distancing measures as advised by the Health Department from time to time.

In order to implement these measures, the District Collectors will deploy Sectorial Magistrates and Incident Commanders in the respective local jurisdictions.