West Bengal likely to impose partial lockdown from January 3 amid surge in COVID-19 case

With COVID-19 cases in Kolkata getting tripled over the past three days, West Bengal is likely to go into partial lockdown from January 3 along with restrictions on domestic flights. Reports suggest bars, restaurants and schools in the state are also likely to shut down.

The capital city reported 1,954 new infections on Friday, while new COVID-19 cases in the state stood at 3,451 in the state. Earlier the West Bengal government decided to suspend all flights arriving from the UK to Kolkata airport which will be effective from January 3, 2022. 

As per reports, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was scheduled to attend a government event on January 3, which has now been called off. Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court and district courts have also decided to function virtually from January 3, apart from exceptional cases. 

According to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Kolkata's weekly positivity rate increased to 12.5%, while the state's increased to 5.47%. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and West Bengal health department have announced a 'system alert' to contain the spread of the virus.

State health secretary Narayan Swaroop Nigam said a 'system alert' involved keeping hospitals, health management, district administration and police on alert so that they could be ready with their plan of action in case of a rise in infections.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has directed Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi to conduct a ward-to-ward survey, and to draw up a plan on imposing micro-containment zones after January 3.