Kerala Govt has decided to impose a strict rule at all the liquor shops across the state.If you haven’t received any vaccine shot for Coronavirus, or if you don’t have a negative RT-PCR test report, then you won’t be able to buy liquor in Kerala State.
Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) has announced these new rules and most of the liquor stores have already placed this message at their shops.
Bevco was forced to make this move, after Kerala High Court scolded the Govt over crowded liquor stores, and such a rush can trigger more infections.
Kerala is already at #1 position in reporting new Covid cases, as more than 50-60% of new cases being reported are from Kerala since last few weeks.
The state government is trying to strike a balance between restrictions and relaxations as in the last few days, it has issued orders withdrawing Saturday lockdown and allowing shops in the malls to be open. But at the same time, it has warned of imposing a triple lockdown if there is a sudden spurt in the number of cases in any area. The government also mandated vaccination for visiting any shops, an order which has drawn flak and created confusion. Health minister Veena George in the state assembly justified the move and said these restrictions are only for the time being.
Regarding the new vaccination rule for visiting shops, Congress leader K Babu in the assembly said that going by the new rules, only senior citizens will be able to visit shops as they are fully vaccinated. Only 28 per cent of the youth have been vaccinated in the state, the Congress leader had said.
The Centre on Tuesday said Kerala’s Covid-19 situation spiralled for many reasons. Delta, less seroprevalence, in-house transmission, older population with a higher prevalence of diabetes all contributed to turning Kerala into a Covid hotspot again.
