COVID-19: No state-wide lockdown in Kerala, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], July 27 : A special Cabinet meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday decided not to impose a complete state-wide lockdown in Kerala considering the common opinion evolved during meetings at various levels including with opposition parties.
"Various discussions were held regarding the COVID-19 situation in the state including with political parties and health experts. A common opinion was evolved that a complete state-wide lockdown should not be imposed now but stringent preventive measures should be put in place in clusters. Based on it, the government has decided not to impose a complete lockdown in the state," said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Cabinet meeting which was for the first time held through video conferencing decided to put in place stringent measures to contain COVID-19 in areas designated as critical containment zone instead of a total lockdown in the state.
In the all-party meeting held last week, most of the political parties including the Congress and the BJP had opposed implementing a complete lockdown in the state.
The Chief Minister said the Cabinet also decided to recommend the Governor to promulgate an ordinance to extend the passing of the Finance Bill for 2020-21. "The situation raised as the government had cancelled the Assembly on July 27 owing to surge in COVID-19 cases," said Chief Minister.
Two deaths and 702 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Kerala on Monday. The total number of cases in the state is now 19,727. There are 495 COVID-19 hotspots in the state, the government informed.