The Bengal Government has extended the lockdown till August 31. Informing about the decision Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that the “current lockdown will continue till August 31 where after the Government will take a further decision depending on the situation.”
As this is “not a complete lockdown” the lockdown protocols will apply to theaters, multiplexes, educational institutions and other places and ceremonies involving public gathering, government sources said.
Besides, the weekly lockdown will continue for one more month save on the days of Bakr-Eid, Raksha Bandhan and Independence Day, the Chief Minister maintained adding all there will be complete lockdown on Sundays and another day in a week. “However I will request all the people concerned to celebrate their festivals maintaining social distancing and following all other rules prescribed by the doctors,” Banerjee said.
“Complete lockdown will be enforced on all the Sundays” she said adding “there will be complete lockdown on August 2, 5, 8, 9 16, 17 23 24 and 31.”
On the UGC’s suggestion for holding the final exams in colleges Banerjee said “we will not be able to hold exams because of the grim situation and we do not want to push the students in deeper problem.”
On the opening of the State’s educational institutions she said “there is a proposal of opening the schools and colleges after Teachers’ Day which is the birth day of Dr Radhakrishnan… but that too will depend upon the situation then … even if the schools and colleges are opened it will be done with 50 percent capacity.” On the State’s corona infrastructure she said “Bengal had a better infrastructure and situation than many other States” adding the State has 56 labs conducting about 16-17 thousand tests per day.