An expert committee constituted by the Kerala government has recommended a gradual lifting of the lockdown in the State, beginning April 15.

“The time is not right for full withdrawal of the lockdown on April 14. The committee recommends a withdrawal strategy that should be gradual, phased and calibrated to ensure that caseload is always kept below the (surge) capacity of the healthcare system to deal with it,” said the 17-member committee headed by former Chief Secretary KM Abraham in a report submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Kerala, the first State in the country to have a Covid-19 positive case on January 30, on Tuesday had 327 confirmed cases and 1,52,804 people under observation, including 795 in hospitals.

It suggested that districts should be the designated units for relaxing the lockdown restrictions. The easing can happen over three phases with the first review falling on April 15.

In each phase of review, the districts have to meet three conditions for having the lockdown lifted. There should not be more than one new case in the preceding week, number of people under\home surveillance should not be more than 10 per cent over previous seven days and the district has no Covid-19 hotspot. In the second and third phases, the scrutiny will be a bit more stringent.

Phased relaxations

Even after the lockdown is lifted, the experts recommended restrictions on the movement of people. During Phase I, nobody should be allowed to leave home without wearing mask and an odd-even scheme should be imposed for private vehicles on the road throughout the week, with Sunday being no-vehicle day. While attendance in government offices and banks would be restricted to 50 per cent, the number of persons permitted at any private work site, at a given time, will be be either 10 people or 25 per cent of the staff strength.

In the Phase II, autos and taxis would be permitted and buses for short distances. All passengers will continue to wear face masks, will not share seats with others and standing would not be allowed in public transport. Micro, small and medium enterprises will be permitted to function with strict protocols. There will be further relaxation on people who can attend weddings and funerals and also attending to work in private enterprises.

In Phase III, limited inter-district bus travel, and domestic flights will be allowed. Universities, schools and colleges will be allowed to open for holding examinations, with proper safe distancing norms.

Any person coming into the State will have to follow 14-day compulsory home quarantine. The expert committee said the complete removal of restrictions could be expected around June 30, unless there is a spurt in fresh cases in the State.

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