Kerala logged 22,414 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday while 108 patients succumbed to the pandemic during the last 24 hours. Though the average Test Positivity Rate continued to be slightly higher at 11.37 per cent, the State Government decided late on Tuesday to do away with the total lockdowns slapped during the weekends.

Veena George, Minister of Health , the frontline leader of the fight against the pandemic, told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that shops and commercial establishments of all places barring regions with high TPR would be alloed to function from 7 am to 9 pm. “We have decided to continue with the lock down on Sundays. The gathering for all functions would be limited to 20 persons. Restrictions would be enforced in places based on the number of cases tested positive for every 1,000 persons,” said George.

The minister also said that places of worship which could accommodate latrget gathering would be allowed to admit not more than 40 persons.

The department of health tested 1.97 lakh samples on Wednesday. Malappuram remained the epicentre of the pandemic with 3691 new patients and was closely followed by Thrissur (2,912).

The death toll in Kerala due to the pandemic touched 17, 211 on Wednesday. There are more than 1.76 lakh  Covid-19 patients undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the State.

Physicians in Government Hospitals in Kerala are of the view that the correct numbers were not being released by the Health Department as details of the kind of tests done on samples are being kept as a secret. “While Tamil Nadu Government discloses the daily count of RT-PCR tests done on the samples, the information provided by the Government of Kerala is not clear about the kind of tests,” said the Government doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity.