Stringent lockdown where Covid spread is critical: Kerala govt

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 19: Special intensified, stringent lockdown restrictions will be enforced in areas of Kerala, where the spread of COVID-19 is at critical-levels, the State government said on Sunday.

The stringent lockdown restrictions would be in force in areas where the weekly infection population ratio (WIPR) is above 10 and the affected places would be notified by the district disaster management authority (DDMA) on a weekly basis, said an order from Chief Secretary V P Joy.

The order said the affected areas would be publicised through websites and other media.

The District Collectors shall further notify micro-containment zones as per guidelines and enforce the lockdown restrictions therein, the order read.

It said contact tracing and quarantine shall also be monitored and strengthened in all districts.

Today, the State reported 19,653 fresh COVID-19 cases and 152 deaths, which took the caseload to 45,08,493 and fatalities to 23,591 till date.

The number of people who recovered from the infection since Saturday was 26,711 which brought the total recoveries to 43,10,674 and the number of active cases to 1,73,631, an official press release said.