Quarantine rules for international passengers lifted in Kerala, colleges set to reopen

A meeting chaired by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday lifted the quarantine norms for all international passengers coming to the state and also decided to reopen colleges and schools for classes 10 to 12 from February 7.

This decision came after the meeting was held to review the existing Covid-19 guidelines in the state. However, classes for students up to ninth standard will resume on February 14.

These new guidelines have come at a time when the daily new Covid cases in Kerala in the past several days stood above 50,000, which decreased to 42,677 cases on Thursday. The test positivity rate in the state was nearly 43 per cent.

The Chief Minister, who after undergoing treatment in the US is presently in the UAE, will reach Kerala on Sunday.

Vijayan took part in the meeting from the UAE through online mode, which has now become the new norm in Kerala, included three cabinet meetings and a few other ones that he took part in, after he left the state.

Meanwhile, arriving international passengers who are symptomatic, have to undergo Covid-19 test followed by self-quarantine for seven days.

The need for conducting an RT-PCR test on the eighth day after arriving in the state from abroad has also been lifted.

Places of worship must follow Covid-19 protocols with not more than 20 people allowed entry. The Covid protocols must be observed on Sunday as well.

The meeting also decided that the famed Attukal Pongala temple festival of the Atthukal Bhagavathy Temple Trust in the capital city like in 2021 must be limited to 200 people in the temple compound and asked all devotees to conduct the pongala festival at their houses.