Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 8 (IANS): Tipplers in Kerala, who liked to have their drinks in a bar, will have to wait for some more time as a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday decided not to re-open the bars.

The bars in the state were closed after a nationwide lockdown following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the excise department was keen to open the bars, Vijayan had said that with the Covid cases spiking in Kerala, it would not be prudent to open the bars.

Kerala had registered the first case of Covid-19 infection on January 30 and now the number of positive cases has crossed the 10,000-mark to touch 10,606.

There are more than 500 bars including beer and wine parlours in the public and private sector in the state.

Growing pressure from the bar owners could be one of the reasons why the excise department is keen to reopen bars.

The only solace for the private players came when for the first time, the state government allowed counter sale of liquor at the same rates as the state run Bevco retail liquor outlets.

Though there is no plan to reopen the bars but the counter sales will continue.