Kerala extends COVID lockdown by another week, local bodies classified on TPR basis

The new lockdown restrictions will come into effect from Thursday (July 1) in Kerala. 

New Delhi: As the decline in COVID-19 cases remains unsatisfactory, the Kerala government on Tuesday (June 29) announced the extension of lockdown by another week. The areas will now be classified according to the spread of the disease, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said after chairing a COVID review meeting. The LSG bodies have been recategorised on the basis of the average Test Positivity Rate (TPR) for the last seven days, PTI reported.  As per the new classification, there are 165 local bodies in the A category (TPR less than 6 percent), 473 in the B category (6 -12 per cent TPR), 316 in the C category (12-18 per cent TPR) and 80 in the D category (TPR more than 18 per cent). "The average TPR is still above 10 per cent, but down from a high of 29.75 cent. The expected progress in TPR decline is not visible. The lockdown cannot continue all the time. That's why the relaxations were allowed but there is concern that TPR is not falling below 10 per cent," Vijayan told the reporters.