MillenniumPost
Bengal

Lockdown extended

PM Modi announces 21-day nationwide shutdown; Mamata invokes ‘complete safety restriction’

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced a complete lockdown across the country for 21 days from Tuesday midnight, asserting that this is necessary for a decisive battle against the Coronavirus outbreak.

In his second address to the nation on the pandemic raging across much of the world, Modi said the decision will have an economic cost but saving people's lives is of paramount importance. "If we don't handle these 21 days well, then our country, your family will go backwards by 21 years," he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee extended the ongoing lockdown in force in Kolkata and other urban areas to the entire state till March 31, imposing "complete safety restriction" to contain the Coronavirus outbreak.

This came after one person died and eight others were detected positive in the state. The eight include two persons who were found positive on Tuesday with both having foreign travel history.

In a Press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Banerjee announced: "Considering the abnormality of the situation, the restriction will be imposed all over rural and urban areas across the state. The step has been taken after undertaking a case study that shows the progress of the deadly virus that, in its initial stage took 67 days to affect 1 lakh people. The next 1 lakh got affected in the next 11 days and now in just four days, the same number of people is getting affected. Hence, the step has been taken to ensure the safety of the masses."

Essential services will continue to remain out of the ambit of the restriction imposed in the entire state as it was on Monday.

Banerjee announced a scheme 'Procheshta' under which a financial help of Rs 1,000 will be extended to those working in the unorganised sector who will be the worst hit by the lockdown and one can apply for the same from April 15 to 30.

She said she has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a special package to all the states as was discussed during Monday's all-party meeting to fight COVID-19. "People are contacting to donate at the State Emergency Relief Fund," Banerjee said. IAS officers have decided to donate a day's salary to the fund.

The Chief Minister also urged people visiting market places and ration shops not to stand close to each other in queues and discouraged youths to come out in the open and play games. She once again requested those returning from abroad or other states to remain indoors for 14 days.

Banerjee also added that dumping of newspaper on stretches should be avoided and distribution of the same to hawkers should take place directly from a vehicle at the designated points.

Along with Commissioner of Kolkata Police Anuj Sharma, the Chief Minister visited different hospitals to supervise the work to check the spread of the virus and distributed masks and sanitisers.

The West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC) operated special buses for health and conservancy workers keeping the Coronavirus crisis in mind. Special buses also operated from the airport to different parts of the city to help those who reached on Tuesday, the day when last domestic flight operations were carried out.

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