The Kerala government on Monday rolled back lockdown relaxations it had allowed in certain safe zones in the state after the Centre intervened against any leniency in imposing the Covid-19 restrictions.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan told a media briefing no relaxation would be allowed till further orders.

“We are not going to relax the lockdown. There was an idea that barbershops could be allowed twice a week. But considering expert opinions, no barbershop would be allowed until further orders,” Vijayan said.

Earlier, in an April 15 order, the CPM-led state government had allowed barbershops, bookstores, motor workshops, shops selling fertilisers, consumer electronic shops and even dine-in restaurants to reopen from this week in some parts of the state that had not seen any Covid-19 cases or reported only a few.

But the state had said that no gatherings — social, religious or political — and even large weddings would be allowed until further orders.

Among other restrictions were that barbershops must function without air-conditioning and with not more than two customers inside.

While no public transport was allowed, the state had permitted private vehicles to ply in case of an emergency or if residents needed to buy essential items. The condition was cars should have just two passengers, besides the driver, and two-wheelers only the rider.

Many had taken the relaxations as a licence to move around. Vehicles poured onto the streets in several cities, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam and Kochi, since early on Monday, while people thronged markets at some places to replenish their stock of essential commodities and created traffic snarls.

Police had a tough time to get the motorists to return home in districts where the relaxations were allowed.

Later on Monday, the state government rolled back all the relaxations following a letter from Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla.

The letter, sent on Sunday, had asked all states and Union Territories not to ease the restrictions.

Vijayan, who resumed his media briefing after a three-day break, said the police would take strict action if anyone was found violating the lockdown.

The chief minister cautioned against thinking that life had become normal, although the state has done well in containing the spread of the coronavirus. “It is not time to breathe easy. One minor lapse would turn back whatever has been achieved with team work,” he said.

Kerala reported six new Covid-19 cases on Monday, taking the total number to 408.