Post May 3, ten Kerala districts in orange zone

Following the fresh classification done by the Centre, post May 3rd Kerala will have two districts each in green and red zones, while 10 are in the orange zone.

Ernakulam and Wayanad come in the green zone, Kannur and Kottayam are in the red and the remaining 10 districts, including the state capital -- Thiruvananthapuram -- are in the orange zone.

This new classification comes at a time when the Centre takes a call shortly on what needs to be done on the lockdown that presently ends on May 3.

In a letter from Preeti Sudan, secretary, Health and Family Welfare to all the chief secretaries it said that a district will be considered under green zone if there are no confirmed cases so far or there is no reported case since last 21 days in the district.

"I would like to highlight that this is a dynamic list. The list will be revised on a weekly basis or earlier and communicated to states for further follow-up action in consonance with the directions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the Disaster Management Act, 2005," wrote Sudan.

She pointed out that it was critical to ensure that necessary action for containment so as to break the chain of transmission of virus is initiated in both red and orange zone districts reporting confirmed cases.