Amidst fresh Covid19 cases surging to new records daily, state government today announced ‘complete lockdown’ across the state for two days every week in view of community spread occurring in a few areas.
“This week, complete lockdown would be enforced on Thursday and Saturday and next week, it would be on Wednesday. The second lockdown day of the next week would be announced after a meeting on Monday”, said state home secretary, Alapan Bandopadhyay at a Press Conference in Nabanna today.
The existing lockdown in the broad-based containment zones will continue, Bandopadhyay added.
This is the first time that Bengal government confirmed community spread occurring in a few areas of the state.
“After discussing with scientists and experts we have come to know that there are some cases of community spread and after seeking opinion from doctors and specialists, chief minister Mamata Banerjee in a high level meeting today decided to bring in tougher restrictions through sudden complete lockdown so as to break the chain and thereby control the spreading of the disease,” he said.
Bandopadhyay said that the state government will inform the days on which the lockdown would be enforced much in advance so that people do not face any problem.
On the days of complete lockdown, all offices, establishments, transport sector would remain closed. Banks would operate five-day a week from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Customer services would be provided during the revised working hours. Earlier, an advisory was issued to DMs, DGP, CP Kolkata stating: “DMs may take a view on continuing lockdown: town-wide or zone-wise depending on the local situation. They can do it for five to seven days… State-wide containment zone-based lockdown continues till 31 July.”
Reiterating that the state government is constantly improving the medical infrastructure, Bandopadhyay said there are many vacant beds in government and private hospitals as well as safe homes.
“Only four to five per cent seriously symptomatic patients and seven to eight per cent of moderately symptomatic patients need hospital facilities while remaining 87 to 88 per cent Covid positive patients are asymptomatic and can remain in home isolation or safe homes,” he added.
In case of any help, people can take assistance from integrated helpline numbers: 1800313444222 or 033-23412600.
For telemedicine assistance, one can dial 033-23576001 and for ambulance services, 033-40902929. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in a recent letter to the state government informed that Kolkata, Howrah, North and South 24-Parganas as well as emerging hotspots in Jhargram, Purulia, Nadia, East Midnapore, Hooghly and Nadia need immediate attention.
“Owing to increasing number of cases observed in Kolkata, there is a need to develop a robust strategy to contain the spread of infection,” read the letter.
The Ministry asked the state to utilise the lockdown to focus on containment, surveillance and testing in the containment and buffer zones and stressed that the state needs to ensure that at least 80 per cent of the new cases have their close contacts traced and quarantined within 72 hours of case confirmation.
It further pointed out that the overall testing has continued to remain low compared to the national average. Currently 7,071 out of 11,239 beds in Covid designated government hospitals and 190 out of 1,904 Covid beds in private hospitals are unoccupied.