THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the COVID-19 test positivity rate (TPR) remaining high in all districts, the ongoing state-wide lockdown has been extended by a week till May 23.
Triple lockdown, with stricter restrictions like no inter-district travel, cordoning off containment zones with single entry/exit point and ban on infected persons and their contacts from stepping outside their houses, will be in force in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram from May 16 (Sunday) on account of the high caseload in these districts.
Meanwhile, CM Pinarayi Vijayan also said vaccination for people in the 18-44 age group will begin on Monday with online registrations commencing on Saturday.Beginning Saturday, only those who have completed at least 84 days after receiving the first dose of Covishield vaccine will be allowed to take the second dose.
The decision has been taken in the wake of the latest findings that it is ideal to take the second dose of Covishield between 84 and 112 days. However, people who take Covaxin can continue to take the second dose between four and six weeks, the chief minister said.
Acknowledging the hardships people will face due to the extension of lockdown, Pinarayi said special measures are being taken by the government including continuing with the distribution of free grocery kits in June as well.
"The distribution of social welfare pension for the month of May will also be completed soon. An assistance of Rs 1,000 will be provided to members of various welfare fund boards," Pinarayi said.
While welfare fund boards that do not have its own funds will receive assistance from the state, BPL families without any assistance at present will be provided a one-time aid of Rs 1,000. The salary of temporary workers will be ensured during the lockdown period.
A revolving fund of Rs 1 lakh will be provided to 19,500 Kudumbashree Area Development Societies (ADS). Chief Minister's 'Sahaya Hastham' loan scheme and Resurgent Kerala loan scheme, being implemented by Kudumbashree, will receive an annual interest subsidy of Rs 93 crore and Rs 73 crore, respectively, in advance.
Three levels of locking down:
The four districts will be locked down in such a manner that nobody moves in and out of the district
Second lock is for containment zones in these districts
Third lock at houses where patients & primary contacts live
Police will take over surveillance of district borders and containment zones
From now on, if a person tests positive in antigen test, an RT-PCR test for confirmation is not required and the person will be considered COVID positive. Also, COVID test will not be mandatory for discharge of patients who show no symptoms after treatment
Triple lockdown explained
As the name suggests, there will be three levels of locking down
First is locking down the assigned area. Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Malappuram districts will be locked down in such a manner that nobody moves in and out of the district. Surveillance on district borders will be beefed up. Exemption will be only for emergency cases.
Second lock is for containment zones in these districts where more cases and their contacts reside. Police will cordon off such areas with single entry/exit points. Residents will be advised to stay indoors strictly.
Only hospitals and medical shops will be allowed to function. As per plan, door delivery of essentials such as grocery and food need to be provided. If there are many clusters, there will be an exemption for shops selling essential items to function for designated hours as door delivery plan may not always be feasible
Third lock is at houses where infected and primary contacts live. They won’t be allowed to step out till the stipulated period of quarantine is over. Police and local body authorities will arrange door delivery of food, medicines and grocery to these houses
Origin
Triple lockdown was introduced by the state police in Kasaragod last year during the first wave of COVID-19
In the second week of April 2020, triple lockdown was introduced in Pallikkara, Udma, Chemmanad, Chengala, Madhur and Mogral Puthur panchayats and Kasaragod municipality, where cases had been very high
IG Vijay Sakhare who was appointed the nodal officer there promoted the idea
In July last year, triple lockdown was implemented in Thiruvananthapuram district following a surge of cases mainly in coastal areas
Implementation
Police will take over surveillance of district borders and containment zones. Mobile numbers of infected people and their primary contacts will be tracked for any movement outside the houses, and if noted, immediate action will be taken
Government offices, private institutions and educational institutions will be asked to close down. Exception will be only for highly essential wings
Challenges
When triple lockdown was introduced last year in Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram, daily positive cases were around 20 to 30 and total number of primary contacts was less than 300. Moreover, most of these cases were in two or three clusters, making things easier to manage
On Friday, Thiruvananthapuram had 4,346, Ernakulam 3,739, Thrissur 3,148 and Malappuram 3,775 new COVID-19 positive cases. These people are spread over the district, rendering the concept of containment zones insignificant. Tracking the primary contacts of each infected person will be a humongous exercise that will only add to the burden of the over-stressed police force