Thiruvananthapuram, July 17: The COVID-19 pandemic has entered into the community outbreak stage in parts of Thiruvananthapuram, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday. The trend of cases  emerging from coastal part of the state capital shows that the stage of community transmission has begun, Vijayan told reporters during the press briefing.

A total lockdown would be imposed from tomorrow in coastal region of Thiruvananthapuram, said Vijayan. The restrictions, which would be rigorously imposed, are aimed at breaking the chain of coronavirus infections. Odisha Government Announces 14-day Complete Lockdown in 4 High Caseload Districts.

"Large number of cases in some places in coastal areas of Thiruvananthapuram district is an indication of disease spread. We can say there is community spread in these places. Government is taking steps to coordinate all efforts to face this serious situation," Vijayan said.

"We are moving to the next stage. There will be more restrictions in the capital district, which has a serious outbreak of the disease. A total lockdown will be implemented in the coastal areas from tomorrow," the Kerala CM added.

The community transmission stage is considered to the second level of pandemic, when the new infections cannot be traced to foreign returnees or those who came in contact with them. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had also indicated that community transmission has begun in some parts of the nation.

Thiruvananthapuram has 246 active infections, which includes 237 locals. In the past two months, most of the infections recorded in Kerala were traced to foreign arrivals or their contacts.

The large concentration of locally infected patients indicates the beginning of community transmission stage. The city was already placed under lockdown since July 6. The measures would become more stringent in coastal areas from tomorrow.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 17, 2020 09:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).