Lockdown in Kerala has been extended to May 30, taking into consideration the hike in the daily Covid-19 cases in the State. This was announced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his daily press briefing on Friday.
Vijayan, who was sworn in as Chief Minister for the second term on Thursday had some good news for the people of the State. “Since there has been improvement in the Covid-19 position in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Thrissur, the triple lock down in force in these districts is being withdrawn from Saturday. But Malappuram district where the situation remains unchanged would continue to be under triple lock down,” said Vijayan.
The Chief Minister said that 29,673 new persons were diagnosed with Covid-19 on Friday. The death toll on Friday was 143. The Test Positivity Ratio as on Friday was 23.3 per cent, he said.
The State subjected 1,33, 558 persons to RT-PCR Test on Friday, said Vijayan. The Chief Minister said there was a discernible reduction in the number of Covid-19 cases while the death toll remained on the high side. “Doctors have told us that the fatalities would be higher for the next few weeks and we have to be cautious,” he said.
Kerala is in the process of setting a vaccine manufacturing facility in the State, disclosed the chief minister. He said the Government is in talks with leading Vaccine manufacturers for vaccine manufacturing in the State.