Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said late on Sunday that the coronavirus curve in the state had begun to flatten, as the number of patients cured of the Covid-19 disease rose above new cases added every day. The state, like the entire country, has been under a lockdown since March 25.

“COVID-19 curve of Kerala has started to flatten,” Isaac tweeted. “The active cases for the last one week has declined. The recovered cases [green curve] will cross the yellow curve soon.”

The curve refers to the projected number of new cases over a period of time. Flattening the curve is an expression used to denote staggering the increase in cases over a longer period of time through lockdown and social distancing measures, so as to allow the healthcare system to deal with the patient load without being overburdened.

Kerala, which had reported the first Covid-19 infection in India on January 31, and was for a time the state with the highest number of cases, had 376 cases as of Monday morning, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. This is far lower than the number of cases in Maharashtra (1,985), Delhi (1,154), Tamil Nadu (1,043), Rajasthan (804), Madhya Pradesh (564), Gujarat (516), Telangana (504), and Uttar Pradesh (483).

On Sunday, Kerala reported two new cases, while 36 patients recovered. Only two patients have died in the state so far.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will soon decide on a lockdown exit strategy after April 14, NDTV reported. Among the suggestions being considered are opening of shops that provide service and repair of home appliances and mobiles, on designated days. However, it remains to be seen whether the Centre will extend the 21-day countrywide lockdown it imposed on March 25.

Overall, in India, 9,152 people have been diagnosed with the disease, of which 308 have died, 856 have been cured and one has left the country.