Bengal extends Covid curbs till Oct 30, relaxes night movt for Puja

Kolkata: Extending the Covid restrictions till October 30, the Bengal government on Thursday allowed the movement of people and vehicles between 11 pm and 5 am for 10 days from Durga Puja to Lakshmi Puja in the middle of the month.

All outdoor activities, including the movement of people and vehicles would, however, remain restricted on other days of the month till October end. The state government has decided not to impose night restrictions from 11 pm to 5 am from October 10 to 20 "in view of the ensuing festive period".

Maha Saptami of Durga Puja is on October 12. The relaxation on night restrictions would allow people to visit pandals following the Covid guidelines even after 11 pm from the day of Chaturthi. Till Lakshmi Puja, which will be observed on October 20, there will be no restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles from 11 pm to 5 am.

However, wearing of masks, maintenance of physical distancing and health and hygiene protocol has to be followed properly or else strict action will be taken as per the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005 and Indian Penal Code.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier said while addressing the Durga Puja coordination meeting of the Kolkata Police at Netaji Indoor Stadium, that the state government's decision on allowing people to visit pandals at night would be informed later.

The police administration in every district has already held coordination meetings with all the Durga Puja organisers. In the meetings, both the police and officers of civil administrations have informed the Puja organisers about the norms that need to be followed in terms of erecting pandals and crowd management.

Meanwhile, India recorded a single-day rise of 23,529 Covid cases on Thursday, taking its infection tally to 3,37,39,980, while the count of active cases dipped to 2,77,020, the lowest in 195 days, according to Union Health ministry data.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 3,30,14,898 while the case fatality rate was recorded at 1.33 per cent. The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 4,48,062 with 311 new fatalities being recorded, according to the data updated at 8 am.

As many as 30 medical students of civic-run KEM Hospital in Mumbai have tested Covid positive, a BMC official said on Thursday.

One of the MBBS students, having mild symptoms of the infection, has been admitted to Seven Hills Hospital for treatment, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official. The other students are asymptomatic and have been quarantined, he said.

Sixty-nine per cent of the country's adult population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 25 per cent has taken both doses, the government said on Thursday.

It also said that increased population density raises chances of COVID-19 spread and it will be prudent to avoid non-essential travel and observe festivity at low key.

The government has exempted customs duty on COVID-19 vaccines for three months till December 31, which will boost domestic availability and make them cheaper. In a notification dated September 29, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said the exemption would come into force on October 1, 2021, and remain in force up to December 31, 2021.