Covid-19 situation in Kerala continued to be critical as 209 patients succumbed to the pandemic while 17, 328 new persons were diagnosed with the disease on Saturday.
This is the second time the number of deaths have crossed the 200 mark giving enough proof that the State is far from normalcy.
According to the release issued by the department of health, the Test Positivity Rate remained 14.89 per cent which is far above the safety mark. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had told in a media brief recently that any relaxation on lock down would be possible only if the TPR remains static at 12 per cent for three or four days.
The State administration on Saturday announced that it was tightening whatever relaxation it had announced on lock down earlier this week. By Saturday morning all thoroughfares in the State were taken over by the police to check the movement of traffic and people. The tightened lock down rules would be in force till Wednesday, said the Government release.
Thisruvananthapuram district continued to be the leader with the highest number of newly tested patients (2,428) with Malappuram district coming a close second with 1,980.
The Malappuram district administration remains in a state of shock because of the failure of the restrictions to yield any results.