THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: COVID-19 positive cases are slowly climbing up in the state again. On Thursday, 10 new cases were reported. Of these four were from Idukki, the district which was not in the affected list since April 3. The others were from Kozhikode and Kottayam (two each) and Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam (one each). On the day, eight persons recovered from the illness.
Briefing the media here, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that taking note of the development, it has been decided to put four districts- Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram -under the red zone category and the remaining ones under the orange zone. In effect, there will be no green zone districts in the state.
“Stringent restrictions will be imposed in the districts which are categorised as red zones, as a whole. In the case of the 10 districts under the orange zone, hotspot areas will be identified at the district administration level. Such areas will be cordoned off. While doing so, a three-level system will be enforced,” the chief minister said. According to the CM, hotspot panchayats will be shut down entirely.
Strict vigil in border areas
“For those who have to cross district borders for emergency purposes, including health-related ones, an emergency pass will be issued from Police Headquarters and district police headquarters. It has also been decided to ensure the presence of doctors at border check posts so as to ensure that no person with Covid-19 related symptoms get entry to the state,” the chief minister added.