New containment zones to remain completely shut for another week

Kolkata: Strict lockdown was clammed in 434 containment zones in Bengal on Thursday evening to ensure a check on the continuous spike in COVID-19 cases.

No lockdown measures, however, have been taken up in three districts, namely Jhargram, West Burdwan and Cooch Behar as no areas have been identified as containment zones there. The highest number of containment zones, that is 95, has been identified in North 24-Parganas.

On Thursday, Bengal recorded 1,088 COVID-19 cases, its highest single-day spike in infections so far, pushing the tally to 25,911 while a record 27 fatalities in the last 24 hours raised the death toll to 854, the state Health department said.

With massive campaigns taken up by the police in the past two days and setting up of security barricades at the entry and exit points of containment zones, there was hardly any such area where people were found remaining outside their houses after 5 pm on Thursday. In most areas, people started moving indoors from 4.30 pm onwards, completing all pending work with almost half-an-hour remaining for the lockdown deadline.

All local police stations have engaged most of their forces in creating awareness and ensuring proper surveillance at the affected areas. However, the public transport system functioned normally with sufficient buses operating on all routes. It helped people, especially those from containment zones, to return home before 5 pm. Markets and shops in the containment zones were shut. Stress has been given on home delivery of goods.

A robust arrangement was brought in place by the police in respective districts to help people get essentials supplied at their doorsteps.

As the state government had announced about constituting broad-based containment zones by clubbing buffer zones and containment zones two days ahead of imposing strict lockdown norms in these areas, the district administration and police got sufficient time to chalk out a full-proof plan to implement the same from Thursday.

In Kolkata, police were deployed at all the 25 containment zones since morning. Besides creating awareness using the public addressing system and urging people to stay indoors, they kept a close eye on individuals moving around without masks. At many places, the police were found sending people back home if they were found venturing out without wearing masks. Howrah and South 24-Parganas have 56 and 54 containment zones respectively.

The top brass of the state government is monitoring the entire situation and have been in constant liaison with the district authorities. The police and district administration are keeping all arrangements ready to ensure proper lockdown in the affected areas on all the next seven days.

Judicial and administrative works at the Calcutta High Court will remain suspended from July 10 to 13 in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak. Sanitisation will also be carried out in three buildings of the High Court.

Sanitisation at Nabanna was carried out on Thursday as recently a bureaucrat had tested positive.