Minister Kadakampally Surendran is in charge of Thiruvananthapuram district.

Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases, the Kerala government on Sunday announced a week-long complete lockdown in the state capital. All government offices, including the state secretariat, would remain closed starting Monday.

Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, who is in charge of the capital district, told the media that Thiruvananthapuram “is perched on a volcano, which can erupt anytime”. “However, there is no community spread of the virus at this stage. More tests would be held in areas where cases without source of infection have emerged,’’ said the minister.

An official release said the lockdown would be strictly implemented from Monday 6 am onwards. People residing in the municipal corporation area would not be allowed to venture out of homes and all roads leading to the city would be closed down. Police can be contacted for supply of essential commodities. However, movement of personnel associated with essential services would be allowed.

The last couple of days have seen a surge in Covid-19 cases in the state capital that do not have a known source of infection.

On Sunday, the Thiruvananthapuram district reported 27 fresh cases, and 22 of them do not have a travel history or any known source of infection. Among those infected are people who, as part of their work, come into contact with a large number of people. They include peddlers at a fish market, a police constable on duty at a venue of a protest, a food delivery boy, a nursery school teacher and hospital staff.

Thiruvananthapuram district has so far reported 287 cases, of which 62 have been attributed to local transmission — about 21 per cent. On Sunday, Kerala reported 225 new cases, taking the total case count to 5,429.