The State will gradually ease COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in at least seven of its 14 districts from Monday.
Idukki and Kottayam, which are in the epidemic green zone, can expect a return to normality in some measure.
However, the ban on inter-district travel will endure. Bars, shopping malls, cinema theatres, temples, places of worship, wedding halls, educational institutions, clubs, parks, gymnasiums, stadiums, and swimming pools will remain closed.
The possibility that undetected asymptomatic carriers might cause new flare-ups in relatively safe zones had necessitated the continuance of the restrictions on inter-district and inter-State travel.
The district administrations in the green zone have imposed strict capacity limits on restaurants to ensure social distancing norms. Social life will take more time to return, if at all, to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Vehicles with registration plates ending in odd numbers can take to the roads on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Those ending in even numbers can run on other days except Sunday. The government has exempted vehicles used by those working in essential services from the limitation.
The relaxed lockdown statutes are little different but a tad stricter in districts classified as Orange (B) zone. They are Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Wayanad, and Thrissur.
The police will insist on wearing masks in public places. Not more than five people will be allowed to gather in public places. However, hotels and retail business can open as usual but should close by 7 p.m., and people can go for work.
Public transport buses, autorickshaws and taxis will remain off the road. Grocery shops, meat stalls, pharmacies, distribution and warehousing networks, and ferrying of cargo can return to pre-COVID-19 activity levels.
Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, and Kollam, which fall in Orange (A) zone, will ease lockdown restrictions on April 24.
However, the curfew will continue in high-risk Red zone districts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.
Officials said the government was in lockstep with the national timetable on easing lockdown restrictions that are slated to end on May 3. It has operated within the latitude granted to States by the Centre.
