Provision shops in Kerala to be open till 7 pm, restaurants allowed door delivery till 10 pm from Friday

The relaxation will be in force from April 24 in 10 orange zone districts of the state.

People at a ration shop in Thiruvananthapuram. (EPS | Vincent Pulickal)

The Kerala government has allowed 10 districts in the orange zone to open shops selling essential items till 7 pm and the restaurants to operate online and door delivery till 10 pm as part of the revised regulation in the wake of the extension of lockdown till May 3. The relaxation will be in force from April 24.

THE NEW REGULATION NORMS

• Takeaway (till 8 pm) and doorstep delivery services of restaurants (till 10 pm)
• The order made it mandatory to wear face masks in public places.
• Private vehicles with only odd numbers are allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
• The even-numbered vehicles are allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
• The odd-even scheme will not be applicable on Sundays.
• There will be no public transport till lockdowns ends. But buses can be used for transporting staff.
• Shops selling educational books, electric fans  and repair shops for electronic gadgets are also allowed to open.
• IT and IT-enabled services can operate with 50 per cent of staff strength.
• The manufacturing sector involved in drugs, IT hardware, food processing, mining, and quarrying are allowed.
• Textile shops will remain closed. Textile and handloom making are allowed.
• Traditional industries such as cashew, coconut, coconut oil, coir, khadi are permitted along with rubber sourcing and processing.
• Construction and maintenance activities shall be done by maintaining social distancing.
• Government offices will continue to work for five days a week.
• Morning and evening walks or jogging wearing masks and ensuring safe distancing are permitted across the state except in hotspots.
• The districts classified as the red category are Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Malappuram.
• Those in the orange category are Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Wayanad, Thrissur, Kottayam, Idukki and Alappuzha. There are no districts in the green category.
• The relaxation will not be applicable to hotspots within the orange zone districts

PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES ACROSS THE STATE UNTIL 3 MAY, 2020

• All domestic and international air travel, except that of medical and veterinary personnel, scientists, nurses, paramedical staff, lab technicians, mid-wives, other hospital support services including ambulances and security purposes.
• Passenger movement by trains, except by security personnel
• Inter-district public transport of all kinds
• Metro Rail services
• Inter-district and inter-state movement of people, except for medical reasons or for activities permitted under these guidelines
• All educational training, coaching institutions
• Industrial, commercial activities except specifically permitted
• Hospitality services except specifically permitted
• Taxis, autorickshaws and taxi aggregators
• Cinema halls, malls, shopping complexes, gymnasiums, sports complexes, swimming pools, entertainment parks, theatres, bars, auditoriums and assembly halls
• Social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, cultural, religious functions
• All religious places, places of worship, religious congregations
• Congregation of more than 20 persons will not be permitted at funerals and weddings
• Borders of hotspots will be sealed with a maximum of two entry/ exit point for supply of essential goods and services

PERMITTED ACTIVITIES IN ORANGE AND GREEN DISTRICTS EXCEPT IN HOTSPOTS

• Health services, including Ayush
• Hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, telemedicine facility
• Dispensaries, chemists, pharmacies and all kinds of medical shops,
• Medical laboratories and collection centres
• Pharmaceutical and medical research labs, institutions carrying out COVID-19 related research
• Veterinary hospitals, dispensaries, clinics, pathology labs, sale and supply of vaccine and medicine
• Homecare providers, diagnostics and supply chain firms serving hospitals
• Manufacturing units of drugs, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical oxygen
• Construction of medical, health infrastructure
• Inter-state and intra-state movement of medical, veterinary staff, ambulances
• Pre-monsoon sanitation programmes
• All agricultural and horticultural activities
• Fisheries activities
• Plantation activities with a maximum of 50 pc of the workforce
• Animal husbandry activities

ALLOWED FACILITIES, SERVICES

• Bank branches, ATMs, IT vendors for banking operations, banking correspondents
• Capital and debt market services
• Insurance companies
• NBFCs with bare minimum staff
• Disbursement of social security pensions
• MGNREGA works with strict social distancing
• Public utilities like petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG and CNG supply
• Akshaya centres
• Print and electronic media, DTH and cable services
• IT and IT-enabled services with up to a maximum of 50 pc of the workforce
• Data and call centres exclusively for government activities
• Courier service
• Cold storage
• Repair shops of electrical, electronic gadgets and services
• Educational books shops for students
• Electric fan shops
• All cooperative societies with less than 33 pc of the workforce

MOVEMENT OF PERSONS

• The movement of private vehicles will be restricted with the odd-even scheme on alternate days. Vehicles with odd numbers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Those with even numbers on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The scheme will not be applicable on Sundays.
• Exemptions in the odd-even scheme are allowed for critical services and emergency services, and those used by the staff of emergency and permitted services
• Ladies and differently-abled persons travelling solo or with dependants are exempted
• Doctors, health workers, and media personnel exempted
• Two passengers besides the driver are allowed in four-wheelers. Only family members of the rider can ride pillion on two-wheelers
• Safe social distancing norms are to be followed on buses and they should be sanitized