The West Bengal government admitted community transmission of COVID-19 in certain parts of the state and said as part of precautionary measures, there will be complete lockdown twice a week—Thursday and Saturday.
Home secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay told reporters, “Yes, in certain parts of the state, it is observed that community spread may have been happening. So, we have decided to take urgent steps.”
Bandyopadhyay’s statement came a day after state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha said the situation in Bengal was not going out of control.
Senior officials met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday and discussed the future course of action. It has been decided that there will be complete lockdown in the state on Thursday and Saturday.
“We will take stock of the situation in the coming days and the government will take further action,” said Bandyopadhyay.
The home secretary said West Bengal was the first state to impose lockdown four months back.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar rushed to Delhi to meet Home Minister Amit Shah. As flights between Kolkata and Delhi were not operational, Dhankhar took a flight to Lucknow on Sunday and then flew to Delhi on Monday.
He held a meeting with Shah on Monday afternoon.
In a statement before his meeting, Dhankhar had said he is in Delhi to discuss the situation in West Bengal.
Sources said the meeting lasted for nearly an hour, and the governor is yet to make any statement. Dhankhar's decision to rush to Delhi in the wake of the political violence in the state and the COVID-19 crisis has raised several eyebrows.
On Sunday, the state saw the highest death toll with 36 deaths, and the steepest single-day spike of more than 2,200 cases. Sources in the state administration told THE WEEK that the situation in Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly is becoming increasingly difficult for the government to handle. Report of deaths are also coming from districts like West Midnapore.
The state government largely blames the return of migrant workers as the cause for the increase in the COVID-19 numbers.
