Offices Shut, Transport Banned As West Bengal To Enforce Total Lockdown In Containment Zones From July 9

As per today's order, the state government will enforce a total lockdown in containment zones (which now includes buffer zones as well) from 5 pm on July 9.

(File Photo/ AFP)

Kolkata: On the backdrop of rising cases of Coronavirus, the West Bengal government on Tuesday decided to impose strict lockdown in containment zones of the state, starting July 9 to stop the further spread of the contagion. The government has expanded the definition of containment zones in the state and merged it with buffer zones to come up with a broad-based containment zone. As per today's order, the state government will enforce a total lockdown in containment zones (which now includes buffer zones as well) from 5 pm on July 9. The order also stated that local authorities will try and arrange home delivery of essential commodities for the residents of these areas. Announcing the order, Additional Chief Secretary, Home, Alapan Bandyopadhyay said: "The state will prohibit functioning of all offices, all non-essential activities, congregations, all forms of transport and all marketing/trading/industrial activities within these newly-defined containment zones." He, however, did not mention how long the fresh spell of the shutdown will last. The current phase of lockdown, in force till July 31, was largely limited to containment zones alone. Bandyopadhyay also said that following activities will be barred in these broader containment zones: all offices (government and private), all non-essential services, all congregations, all transportation, all marketing/industrial/trading activities. Even the movement of residents in these areas will be strictly regulated. There will be strict restrictions on public movements in all the market areas that fall under the containment zones and isolation units. Only emergency services will be kept out of the total lockdown purview. Wearing a mask is also mandatory before stepping out of homes. The decision to impose a complete lockdown in broader containment zones comes days after the state government restricted flights from six Covid-19 hotspots - Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai and Ahmedabad - to land in Kolkata between July 6-19. Total lockdown will also be imposed in Malda's 49 municipal wards from Wednesday to handle the rise in new Covid-19 cases in the district. The death toll due to Covid-19 in West Bengal mounted to 779 on Monday with a record 22 fatalities in a day, the health department said. As many as 861 people have tested positive for the virus in the past 24 hours, taking the infection tally in the state to 22,987.