E-Paper
West Bengal relaxes partial lockdown rules within 24 hours
The state government on Saturday allowed weddings and other familial gatherings to continue while putting a cap on the number of invitees to such gatherings at 50.
The Mamata Banerjee administration, which imposed a partial lockdown on Friday, relaxed some of the rules on Saturday, as per the state government order.
“Use of masks, sanitisers and physical distancing would be compulsory in all public places,” the order stated.
The state government on Saturday allowed weddings and other familial gatherings to continue while putting a cap on the number of invitees to such gatherings at 50.
Even though retail shops and markets have been allowed to remain open only twice a day – 7 am to 10 am and then from 3 pm to 5 pm – the modified order issued on Saturday said that sweetmeat shops and shops dealing with electricity, telecom, transport, milk supply etc will remain outside the confines of the lockdown.
With West Bengal witnessing a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases in the last two months, the state administration had opted for a partial lockdown from Friday.
Friday’s order had prohibited all kinds of social, cultural, academic, entertainment-related gatherings, including weddings.
Shopping malls, cinema halls, restaurants and bars, sports complexes, gyms, spas, swimming and beauty parlours were shut down in the previous order even as home deliveries and online services were allowed. Market-timings were also restricted while allowing only essential services such as medical shops and grocery.
West Bengal registered 17,512 new Covid-19 cases on Saturday, up from 216 cases reported on February 26 when the Election Commission announced the poll schedule, prompting health experts to link the surge in cases to maskless political rallies that violated Covid protocol.
