As cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus surged, the Kerala government on Monday decided to impose night curfew from December 30 to January 2 and put severe restrictions on New Year Celebrations.
During night curfew strict restrictions will be in place from 10 pm to 5 am and only essential services will be allowed. On December 31, there will not be any celebrations after 10 pm and crowd will be controlled in major tourist destinations and beaches, said a statement released by the CM’s office.
Earlier in the day, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has chaired the core committee meet on pandemic and decided to introduce certain restrictions after Omicron cases rose to 57. “Experts warned that by January-end there can be a spike in cases.
We have to ensure enough beds and oxygen. District collectors have been given instructions to ensure this,” said the CM. He said seating capacity in hotels, bars and other places will be restricted to half and there will be strict inspections to ensure this. He appealed people to travel if necessary during this period and avoid crowded places.
Meanwhile, the state reported 1636 fresh cases of Covid-19 after 42,149 samples were tested. It also reported 23 death and added 213 backlog deaths (occurred between March 2020 and June 2021) as per the directive of the Supreme Court order.
