West Bengal extends COVID-19 lockdown till 31 July: Here’s what will remain closed and stay open in state

With the cases of COVID-19 in West Bengal crossing the 15,000-mark, the West Bengal government on Wednesday extended the lockdown in the state till 31 July. The lockdown in the state has been extended to contain the spread of novel coronavirus. [caption id=“attachment_8525691” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Representational image. AP[/caption] The nationwide COVID-19 lockdown 5.0 is scheduled to end on 30 June. According to a report by TOI, the announcement of extension of lockdown was made after an all-party meeting convened by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna to deliberate on the spread of the virus. A report by The Indian Express mentions that announcing the decision, Banerjee said, “Many parties expressed different opinions on tackling the coronavirus pandemic… But we decided to extend the lockdown… We are saying that since the COVID-19 cases are increasing in the entire country, it is our responsibility to help improve the situation….” The state government has informed that the existing relaxations will continue outside the containment zones. What will remain closed - Complete lockdown measures will be in place in containment zones in the state - Metro and suburban train services will remain suspended - Schools, colleges and all the other education institutes will remain closed What will remain open - Shopping malls, restaurants will continue to operate following the Unlock 1.0 guidelines by the Union Home Ministry - Places of worship will remain open. People have been asked to adhere to the social distancing guidelines - Government offices are allowed to function in a “segregated manner” with 70 percent attendance - Private offices have been permitted to function with limited staff in attendance. According to a report by NDTV, West Bengal has registered 445 new cases and 11 deaths due to coronavirus on Wednesday. The total number of cases in the state is 15,173, of which 4,890 are active cases. The novel coronavirus has so far claimed 591 lives in West Bengal.