Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday announced a statewide lockdown from May 8-16 to fight the surge in coronavirus cases.

Most states have taken to partial lockdowns or containment measures to fight the deadly sweep of the second wave of infections.

In a tweet on Thursday, the Kerala CM's Office said, "As directed by the CM, the entire State of Kerala will be under lockdown from 6am on 8 May to 16 May. This is in the background of a strong 2nd wave of COVID-19."

On Wednesday, Kerala recorded 41,953 fresh coronavirus cases in the highest single-day spike so far. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the situation in Kerala as serious and added that stringent measures will have to be taken to curb the Covid surge.

The decision to impose a complete lockdown in Kerala was taken after reviewing the present Covid situation in the state.

The chief minister had also said that instructions will be given to strengthen the ward level committees and rapid response teams in the state by bringing in the medical students from the areas.