Thiruvananthapuram, March 20 (IANS): Facing frequent Opposition flak for not postponing board and university examination, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday announced that all exams currently on have been postponed following coronavirus outbreak.

Kerala has so far witnessed 25 COVID-19 positive patients and over 30,000 people are under observation.

The state board exams for Class X, XI and XII, currently on, have been postponed and fresh dates will be decided after March 31.

All university exams, too, have been postponed.

It has also been decided that there will be no exams for Class 8 and 9.

Both the Congress-led UDF and the BJP-led NDA have been demanding postponing all examinations, but it was only late last night after a meeting with the with top bureaucrats that the CM decided to postpone the exams.

Meanwhile, Vijayan remains unrelenting to the demands for closing down all state-owned retail shops selling liquor and beer.

The staff at these liquor outlets have started insisting that the customers maintain a distance from the counters.