West Bengal extends bi-weekly lockdown till mid-September: Here are the dates

In view of surging novel coronavirus infection in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has extended the bi-weekly complete lockdown across the state till mid-September.

The chief minister announced on August 26 that the state would observe the complete lockdown on September 7, 11 and 12, saying COVID cases were rising in many places.

The West Bengal government has been implementing a bi-weekly total lockdown since July 23, after the admission of community transmission in some parts of the state.

Banerjee also announced an extension of the closure of educational institutes till September 20.

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She said her government was willing to allow one- fourth of suburban trains services and full Metro Railway services with adequate safety protocols, including social distancing from September 1.

The CM further allowed flight operations from six COVID hotspot states thrice a week.

"We have received several requests to resume flight operations from six COVID hotspot states. So from September 1, flight services from these six coronavirus-hit cities can operate thrice a week," she said after a Cabinet meeting.

To combat the spread of coronavirus, the state government had imposed a ban till August 31 on passenger flights to Kolkata from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur and Ahmedabad.

West Bengal COVID-19 tally rose to 1,47,775 with 2,974 fresh cases reported on August 26 while the death toll reached 2,964  after 55 people succumbed to the disease, according to a bulletin issued by the health department.

(With inputs from PTI)