Bengal extends lockdown; schools, colleges to close until June 10

On Saturday, the West Bengal government announced the extension of the lockdown till April 30. It also declared the closure of all educational institutes till June 10 as the state registered six new COVID-19 cases, taking the overall tally to 122. Apart from West Bengal, Rajasthan, Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha, and Punjab have declared the extension of the lockdown to evade the spread of coronavirus. On April 14, the ongoing 21-day nationwide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 crisis is scheduled to end. The Centre is working on a request made by most states to extend the ongoing nationwide lockdown by two more weeks beyond April 14.

Before this, the prime minister of the country had interacted with chief ministers. He informed them that focus should be now on health as well as the prosperity of the nation. During a press conference, state Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha informed that the state government would impose a 14-day 'total lockdown' in 10 hotspots from where several COVID-19 cases have been reported. He asserted that local markets and all roads in those areas would be totally shut down, and no one would be permitted to enter or step out of their homes.

The state government is also deliberating to conduct rapid tests in the hotspots. During the interaction with the prime minister, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked for a financial aid for the state and Rs 10 lakh crores relief package for the states. As per Ms. Mukherjee, the Centre should also bring in a special package for the unorganised and MSME sectors.

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