Lockdown In West Bengal Extended Till June 30: Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee further added that relatives of deceased corona patients will now be allowed to see them for the final rites.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Image: ANI)

Kolkata: In the wake of surging coronavirus cases in the state, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced to extend the state-wide lockdown till June 30. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, CM Mamata said "The lockdown is being extended in the state till June 30, with all existing relaxations and conditions still in place." Last week on May 30, West Bengal CM had announced a slew of relaxations, including opening up of religious places and allowing 100% staff in private offices. West Bengal was in fact the first state to announce that all religious places will open from June 1. Till now, the West Bengal government had allowed only ten people at function, funeral or places of worship. However, under the new phase of lockdown, Chief Minister said that maximum of 25 people can now be at a same place. "Earlier, we had allowed only 10 people at social programmes such as a marriage or a funeral ceremony, now we have increased it to 25," she said after a meeting of the state cabinet. According to the reports, Mamata Banerjee further added that relatives of deceased coronavirus patients will now be allowed to see them for the final rites. "The dead body should be kept at a suitable place for 30 minutes during which the family members shall be allowed to pay their last respects. In case of death of a patient, the hospital shall inform the family members within one hour of death. A body cover with transparent face area shall be used," a state government notification said. Meanwhile, north-eastern state Mizoram has also decided to extend the imposed lockdown for 2 more weeks, announcing a complete lockdown in the state starting from June 9, 2020. This comes on the day when most of the states in India resumed several economic activities such as hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, monuments and places of worships.