Lockdown in Bengal containment zones till Aug 31, biweekly curbs to continue

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that the lockdown in the state's containment zones will continue till August 31. Addressing a press conference, she added that the biweekly total lockdown across West Bengal will also remain in place to check the spread of the coronavirus disease. “The lockdown in containment zones will continue till August 31. The biweekly total lockdown across the state will also remain in place till the end of next month,” Banerjee said. Total lockdown will be imposed on August 2, 5, 8, 9, 16, 17, 23, 24 and 31, Banerjee said. “The biweekly lockdown will be implemented mostly on Saturdays and Sundays. But since festivals like Eid as also Independence Day are happening on Saturdays, lockdown will be enforced on some other day,” she said. Banerjee further said that the schools and colleges will remain closed till August 31 and a decision on their reopening will be taken in September. The decision to enforce biweekly lockdown was taken earlier this month amid suspected community transmission in some parts of the state. The state had reported over 60,000 COVID-19 cases till Monday.