THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to curb the transmission of COVID-19 in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday said the state will impose a night curfew starting on August 30, from 10 pm to 6 am.
He further informed that the Sunday lockdown will continue to be imposed until further orders.
Addressing a virtual press conference today, he said, "Since the relaxations in lockdown were given, there has been a surge in COVID-19 cases. It was further aggravated by rush in Onam."
However, anticipating this, the government enhanced treatment facilities including the COVID-19 vaccination drive, he added.
"Vaccination is happening at a brisk pace. We hope to attain herd immunity at the earliest," said the Chief Minister. According to him, the number of people not infected with the virus is "still high."
"That is the reason for cases increasing. As per the seroprevalence study reports, 44.4 per cent people in the state have been infected," said Vijayan.
In his address, he also said, "In proportion to the population, Kerala is the fastest vaccinating state in the country. We have managed to administer up to 5 lakh doses in a single day. The death rate is still under control, however, there is a proportionate increase as per the number of cases."
As per today's health bulletin, Kerala recorded 31,265 new COVID-19 cases, 21,468 recoveries and 153 deaths in the last 24 hours. There are 20,4,896 active cases while death toll climbed to 20,466. A total of 1,67,497 samples were tested for the presence of the virus.