Kolkata: West Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay on Saturday announced a Covid-19 lockdown in the state for 15 days between May 16 to May 30. This comes even as the state had some restrictions in place. Covid cases have been rising in the state in the aftermath of the Assembly Elections.
The fresh restrictions will come into force from 6 am on Sunday 16 May and to continue till 6 pm till 30 May.
Bandyopadhyay said, “We are hopeful that with this restriction, we will be able to contain the virus to some extent. This will also reduce the burden on health care institutes, nursing homes, hospitals. This will help us to reduce the daily corona cases and also to manage the Oxygen supply chain.”
The state on Friday registered its highest single-day spike of 20,846 fresh cases, taking the total tally to 10,94,802, the health department bulletin showed. The toll rose to 12,993 after 136 more people, including five eminent doctors, succumbed to the infection.
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HERE’S A LOOK AT WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED:
- Industries and factories will remain shut.
- Inter-state trains, buses and Metro services to remain shut.
- All gatherings, including religious gatherings, are prohibited.
- Tea gardens will operate with a 50% workforce.
- Jute mills will operate with a 30% workforce.
- Schools, colleges and all educational institutions will be shut.
- Government and private offices to remain closed.
- Night curfew will be imposed between 9 pm to 5 am.
- Weddings to be permitted with no more than 50 people in attendance with physical distancing.
- Gyms, spas, shopping malls and cinema halls to remain shut.
WHAT IS EXEMPTED
- All emergency services and media operations are allowed.
- Essential services like medical stores, optical showrooms and ATMs will be allowed to remain open.
- All markets and bazaars will be functional from 7 AM and to 10 AM, whole sweet shops will be allowed to function from 10 am to 5 pm.
- Petrol pumps will remain open.
- Taxis and autos to ply with emergency passengers and ferry passengers from airports.
- Government offices handling emergency and essential services will remain operational.
