Soon after taking oath as West Bengal’s Chief Minister for the third time, Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced a slew of restrictions to rein in the COVID-19 outbreak. Notably, the state saw huge gatherings as leaders across political parties addressed poll rallies for the recently-concluded Assembly elections.
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Here are the restrictions imposed in West Bengal:
General
* Wearing masks is mandatory.
* Shopping complexes, gyms, cinema halls, beauty parlours will remain closed
* Social and political gatherings have been banned.
Businesses/government establishments
* There will be an attendance of 50% in state government offices.
* For the private sector, at least 50% employees will work from home.
* All markets, retailers, standalone shops will function from 7 am to 10 am and later from 5 pm to 7 pm.
* Jewellery shops will remain open from 12 pm to 3 pm.
* Home delivery will be encouraged.
* Banks will operate from 10 am to 2 pm.
Travel
* Movement of local trains will be suspended from Thursday.
* State transport, including metro, will function with 50% capacity.
* From May 7 nobody will be allowed to arrive at airports without RT-PCR negative report, not older than 72 hours. Those who’ll test positive will be sent to 14-day quarantine, arranged by airport authority with state government.
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West Bengal has recorded more than 898,000 COVID-19 cases and 11,744 deaths, till Tuesday.