Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has announced the commencement of a cautious and gradual winding down of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions from Wednesday, June 17.

It is based on seeing the declines in the Test positivity rate that the restriction is being considered. However,  Lockdown restrictions would be total in containment zones. Triple lockdown would automatically come into force in localities with a weekly average TPR of 30 percent and above.

The chief minister said the State would shut down entirely on the weekend. The administration would review lockdown restrictions every week on Wednesday. The decision signalled a welcome respite from an unexpectedly long lockdown season that began on May 8 to turn the tide of the virulent second coronavirus wave.

The government permitted legal alcohol as a takeaway from liquor stores and bars between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Indoor drinking and dining in bars and hotels were prohibited. The government would use a mobile phone-based booking system to assign time slots for liquor buyers. There would be no sale of liquor in containment localities or on the weekend.

Schools, colleges, temples, mosques, churches and places of worship would remain shuttered. So would shopping malls, cinema theatres, indoor stadiums, gymnasiums and beauty parlours. Outdoor sports, only games with reduced scope for close physical interaction, were allowed. Walking circuits, parks, and weekend destinations would remain shut.

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