The Kerala government on Thursday announced a full lockdown in the state from May 8 to 16 in view of the rising cases in the second wave of COVID-19.
The decision was announced a day after the state reported a record 41,953 infections.
The lockdown will come into force at 6 am on Saturday.
The state had earlier brought in strict restrictions that prevented unnecessary travel and reduced attendance in offices.
However, health experts and police departments advised the government to impose a complete lockdown as the current measures were failing to bring down the state’s COVID-19 graph.
Kerala’s active caseload is 3.75 lakh, the third-highest in India.
Its test positivity rate on Wednesday was 25.69 per cent.
With the number of patients admitted to hospitals increasing, the state’s health infrastructure has come under immense pressure.
The state government recently urged the Centre to allot it 1,000 MT of imported liquid medical oxygen, apart from demanding tankers, PSA plants, oxygen concentrators and ventilators.
Surjitt Sahani
