The West Bengal government has decided to enforce a complete lockdown in containment zones in the state from 5 pm on July 9, PTI reported on Tuesday. The government issued the order in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases in the state. As of Tuesday evening, West Bengal has 22,987 cases, including 779 deaths, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
All private as well as government offices will remain shut from July 9, NDTV reported. Transport will be prohibited, and so will non-essential activities. Entry to and exit from containment zones will be monitored. Shopping malls and industries will remain closed. However, it is not clear how long the lockdown will last.
The government had earlier divided the state into three zones – buffer zones, affected zones and clean zones. It has now decided to combine the buffer zones and affected zones.
“These broader containment zones may be subjected to strict lockdown and all offices, government and private, all non-essential activities, congregations, transportations and all marketing, industrial and trading activities be closed,” an order issued by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.
Till July 1, there were 18 containment zones and 1,872 isolation units in Kolkata alone, NDTV reported. The government is expected to come out with a new list of containment zones on Wednesday.
On June 24, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended the partial lockdown in the state till July 31. On July 4, the state government banned incoming flights from Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai and Ahmedabad – six cities most affected by the pandemic, until July 19.
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