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Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20: The Kerala government announced the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in two zones, allowing among other private vehicles movement in an odd-even basis and dine-in services at hotels from Monday.

State police chief Loknath Behera said the relaxations of restrictions imposed would come into effect in the Green and Orange-B zones in the state from Monday,an official release said.

Earlier, the Left government had colour-coded 14 districts of the state into four zones-- Red, Green, Orange-A and Orange-B, for containing the Covid-19 pandemic. Red zone comprises Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. In this zone, a complete lockdown will be in place until May 3 while two entry and exit points are allowed for carrying essential commodities to coronavirus hotspots. Orange-A zone comprises Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kollam while orange-B zone comprises Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad.

The lockdown will be in effect until April 24 in this zone and then partial relaxation will be allowed. Kottayam and Idukki come under the Green zone, in which lockdown will be in effect until April 20 and then regulations will be eased. However, large gatherings, the functioning of educational institutions, religious functions, celebrations and travel outside the district will not be allowed in this zone.

Not more than 20 people are allowed to take part in weddings and funerals, according to government instructions. On the functioning of courts, the release said, "Courts in the Green and Orange-B zones will re-open on April 21 while that in Orange-A zone will start functioning from April 25. The courts will function with 33 per cent of staff. The cases will be heard via video conferencing."

Meanwhile, the Bankers' Council has announced that banks will function as per the usual timings from Monday in the state except four districts falling under the Red zone. The Transport Ministry has clarifiedthat public transport won't be allowed to ply in the state during the lockdown period. "Inter-district travel will not be allowed despite relaxations in the state, but essential services such as medical services, food supplies will not be stopped. However, in case of emergency, inter-district travel will be allowed with an affidavit prepared by the traveller," Behra said in a release.

On the implementation of the odd-even scheme for private vehicles, the police said, "Vehicles with odd numbers will be permitted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with even numbers will be allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays." Woman drivers travelling solo or with dependants are also exempted from it, police said. On Sundays, only those working for essential services are allowed to use their vehicles.

All education institutions, cinema halls, shopping malls, public parks, bars, places of worship will remain closed in all zones of the state. The health department and local administration, which carry out sanitation work before the monsoon, are allowed to operate. Four-wheelers are permitted to carry two passengers besides the driver and in case of a two-wheeler, only the driver will be allowed while the pillion rider is allowed in case the person is a family member.

On Dine-in services, a government order said it is allowed at hotels and restaurants until 7 PM in Green and Orange-B zone from Monday and in Orange-A zone from April 24. However, take-away counters can function until 8 PM, it said. Kerala on Sunday reported two positive cases of Covid-19 in the state taking the total number of affected to 401 while the health department announced that 13 people were cured.

Mangaluru/Udupi, Jun 7: Coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have recorded 17 and 13 new coronavirus positive cases between 5 p.m. on June 6 and 5 p.m. on June 7. 

16 among 17 new covid patients in Dakshina Kannada are returnees from Maharashtra, while one returned from Goa recently.

Maharashtra returnees comprise 14 males, including three teenagers t, and two females aged 32 and 41. The Goa returnee is a 32-year-old male.

All of them have all been admitted to the designated COVID hospital in the district.

With this, the total tally of coronavirus cases in Dakshina Kannada has risen to 203, out of which 47 are currently active. As many as 150 patients have recovered and been discharged, and seven have died.

Among the 13 in Udupi, 12 are Maharashtra returnees, while process of contact tracing of one patient, a 30-year-old woman, is going on.

The patients comprise eight males, including a 7-year-old boy, and five females. They have all been admitted to the designated hospital.

This takes the total number of coronavirus cases in Udupi district to 902, out of which 798 are currently active, 103 discharged, and one patient has died.

Bengaluru, Jul 17: Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare B Sriramulu on Thursday clarified that his remarks have been misinterpreted, wherein he apparently said that ''only God can save people from Covid''.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leader slammed KPCC President D K Shivakumar for spreading false information and said that my words were not meant to cause panic among the masses.

''Respected Shivakumar, this is a clarification regarding my words that have been misinterpreted and misunderstood.

While responding to claims of the opposition that the government’s negligence, irresponsibility and the lack of coordination among ministers are responsible for the rise in cases in the state, I stated that ‘these accusations are far from the truth. People need to be aware and cautious to avoid the spread of the virus. This plays a vital role in controlling the pandemic. If we fail at this crucial step the situation can get complicated. And if things go worse, then only God can save us'', Mr Sriramulu said in a series of posts on Twitter