Bengal extends Covid restrictions till Sept 15

Kolkata: The Bengal government extended Covid restrictions in the state till September 15 but allowed coaching centres for competitive examinations to remain open with 50 percent capacity at a time. However, these centres have to follow Covid protocols and regular sanitisation has to be done.

The order released from Nabanna undersigned by state Chief Secretary on Saturday, which will be effective from September 1, further reiterated that all outdoor activities, including the movement of people and vehicles, shall be strictly prohibited between 11 pm and 5 am except for health services, law and order, essential commodities, including agricultural produce and other emergency services.

Single-day Covid infection in the state dropped to 661 on Saturday from what stood at 703 on Friday.

The order clearly states that wearing masks, maintenance of physical distancing, health and hygiene protocols should be followed at all times.

The district administration, Police Commissionerates and local authorities shall ensure strict compliance with the directives and violation will attract penalisation as per provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005 and the Indian Penal Code.

The order came after India started recording more Covid cases across states.

The country's daily numbers jumped by over four per cent as the country reported 46,759 new cases on Saturday, the most in nearly two months, as cases surge in Kerala. 509 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours, according to the Union Health ministry.

The death toll has climbed to 4,37,370 with 509 more fatalities being recorded, according to the data updated at 8 am.

Meanwhile, ahead of the festival season, the Centre on Saturday asked all states and Union Territories to ensure there is no large gathering and that they take proactive measures to check the spread of the virus.

Extending the ongoing COVID-19 guidelines for one more month till September 30, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said the overall pandemic situation now appears to be largely stable at the national level, except for the localised spread observed in a few states.

The total number of active cases and high case positivity in some districts continue to remain a matter of concern, he told the Chief Secretaries of all states and UTs in identical letters.