Complete lockdown in 47 wards in Siliguri for seven days from July 16

Darjeeling district task force has declared a complete lockdown in 47 wards of Siliguri Municipal Corporation for seven days, starting 9 am on July 16 in view of the rising cases of COVID-19, West Bengal Tourism Minister Goutam Deb informed on Wednesday. 

The West Bengal government on Tuesday extended till July 19 the total lockdown in containment zones to stem the spike in COVID-19 cases. The lockdown which began on July 9 was initially imposed for seven days.

According to a notification issued by the Home Department, the rigorous containment in these areas would be extended from July 15 to July 19. These zones are located in and around Kolkata, besides Jalpaiguri, Malda, Cooch Behar, Raiganj and Siliguri.

"All the norms that have been in force since 5 pm on July 9 will continue. Residents of the containment zones are prohibited from attending government and private offices," a senior official told news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, the number of containment zones in the state rose to 606, with North 24 Parganas district having the maximum at 95.

Howrah has 85 containment zones, Uttar Dinajpur has 61, Nadia 42, South 24 Parganas 55 and Kolkata 28, the government stated on its 'Egiye Bangla' website.

West Bengal has so far reported 32,838 COVID-19 cases, while 980 people have died.

A total of 19,931 people have recovered from the disease in the state. 

(With ANI and PTI inputs)