The Health and Family Welfare Department of Kerala, on January 13, renewed the regulations put in place to control the spread of COVID-19. The government notification, named the Kerala Epidemics Disease Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Regulations, 2023, says that they will come into effect immediately and will be enforced for a month’s time. The order issued on January notification was released as per the provisions of the Kerala Epidemics Act 2021. The government has been renewing the regulations at regular intervals ever since the first wave of Covid-19 broke out.
According to these regulations, all individuals and organisations are supposed to obey the following guidelines:
1) Wear masks/face shields: Everyone in public places, workplaces, any place that is open to the public, social gatherings, and on every type of vehicle, should wear masks or shields that cover the nose and mouth.
2) Use of sanitiser/soap: Owners of establishments, shops and theatres, and organisers of events should provide sanitiser/soap and water to clients and participants.
3) Physical distancing: Everyone should maintain physical distancing in public spaces and functions.
The regulations had continued to be in place since the first wave, even though they were not mandatory. People in the state had more or less stopped wearing masks. The state witnessed a surge in cases in the second wave, after its early lull, when the virus began to spread to thousands of people. In December last year, when a new variant of Omicron was believed to have broken out, Kerala accounted for 38% of the new cases in India, says a Times of India report. The statistics released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare says that Kerala has 1,303 active cases, the most in any state. Karnataka and Maharashtra, which have the second and third highest numbers, only have 146 and 139 cases respectively.