(Image source from: technologyreview.com)

Kerala Government on Sunday announced amendments in the safety rules to curb the seriousness of the situation till July 2021.

Heeding to the current COVID-19 spike in infections across the state, Chief Minister K. Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday made it a compulsion to follow the safety rules till July next year.

The Kerala Government has amended certain rules to the state’s Epidemic Disease Ordinance which include maintaining social distance, wearing masks and other protocols to contain the spread of the virus.

Notably, Kerala is the first state to implement this measure in the country. Kerala was the first state that was hit by coronavirus in December 2019. Since then, the state has come up with many successful measures which could fruitfully limit the number of infections. But, in the recent times, due to relaxations in the lockdown across the country, Kerala is also witnessing a growing rate of COVID-19 positive cases which alerted the government.

Here’s the announcement made by the state government on Twitter yesterday. The tweet contains images which in detail explain the latest rules and amendments that every citizen needs to follow till July 2021.

Kerala Health Department issues notification extending the enforcement of state's #COVID19 regulations till July 2021. pic.twitter.com/e2lrVTK9rI

— ANI (@ANI) July 5, 2020

The new and amended rules have been given a name by the government and it is called Kerala Epidemic Coronavirus Additional Regulations, 2020.

Here’s everything you need to know about the new rules:

• Wearing Face Mask: Everyone must cover their faces with face masks in places where there is public access like work place, during commute in public transport and while driving.
• Maintaining Social Distance: A distance of six feet must be maintained in between person to person in public places and mass gatherings.
• Shops and commercial establishments: Maximum number of permitted members in shops and complexes should not exceed 20 at a time. Owners of these shops must provide sanitizers to customers for use.
• Social Gathering: No congregations, processions or dharnas shall take place in the state without prior permission from the concerned authorities. If granted permission, the number of people should not exceed 10.
• COVID-19 Jagratha e-platform: All the visitors from other parts of the country or from a different country visiting Kerala must register themselves in this e-platform for contact tracing and other COVID-19 combating measures.
• The regular operation of Inter- state carrier transport from and to Kerala by road shall remain suspended.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in Kerala reaches 5430 of which the active cases stand at 2228. The death toll in the state reaches to 26 as on Sunday.

By Gayatri Yellayi