West Bengal has witnessed a record spike in new infections and deaths in the last ten days.
A day after announcing a partial shutdown in the state, the West Bengal government has imposed more curbs to stem the spread of coronavirus. While the number of invitees at weddings have been restricted to 50, the shops across the state would be allowed to function only during the time frame allotted to markets in the new list of curbs.
“In continuation of yesterdays order, we have decided to restrict the number of invitees to 50 people at wedding ceremonies and family gatherings and they must wear masks, use sanitiser and maintain physical distance,” a government order said.
The markets in the state have been allowed to function for only five hours every day – 7-10 am and 3-5 pm.
Grocery, sweetmeat shops and milk outlets have been exempted from these restrictions.
Shopping complexes, beauty parlours, cinema halls, sports facilities and restaurants were shut indefinitely on Friday after the announcement of the partial shutdown.
Home deliveries and other online services have been allowed to function by the state government.
West Bengal has witnessed a record spike in new infections and deaths in the last ten days. The state has been reporting more than 17,000 deaths new cases for the last three days. 96 deaths due to COVID-19 were reported in Bengal – highest ever – on Friday. Kolkata alone accounted for the 28 of these 96 deaths.
The positivity rate has climbed from 6.79 per cent ten days ago to 7.94 per cent.
The surge COVID-19 cases in the state had led to a crisis of beds in hospitals.
Recently, a regulatory body for private hospitals asked the clinical establishments of the state to earmark 60 per cent of ttheir total bed strength for treating coronavirus patients.