Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 25 (IANS): Kerala has welcomed the fresh relaxation of lockdown guidelines by the Centre that will allow the opening of neighbourhood shops, State Minister for Industries E.P.Jayarajan said on Saturday, adding that the state will do everything needful to not let the coronavirus outbreak to increase.

"We welcome this new guideline, but we will come out with how this will be made applicable in our state. We just cannot afford to relax on our efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," said Jayarajan.

According to the new order by the Centre, only those shops will be opened that are registered under the Shops and Establishment Act of the respective states and UTs, including shops in residential complexes and market complexes, except shops in multi-brand and single brand malls.

Kerala at present is divided into red and orange zones, with four districts -- Kannur, Kasargode, Kozhikode and Malappuram in the red zone, where strict controls are in place and the remaining 10 districts all coming under the orange zones.

In Kerala there are over 80 hotspots and with the new guideline ruling out any relaxations in the hotspots, Kerala will be following the same guidelines. The state government is expected to come out with fresh guidelinesas well.