Lockdown in containment zones in West Bengal for seven days: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee

Lockdown will be imposed in containment zones in West Bengal for seven days from 5 pm on Thursday to check the surge in novel coronavirus cases, chief minister Mamata Banerjee said on Wednesday.

Also Read: Mumbai records lowest single-day spike, toll crosses 5,000

The situation will be reviewed after the seven days and the next course of action will be decided, she said at the state secretariat.

"This lockdown in containment zones in West Bengal will continue for seven days from 5 pm Thursday. Will review the situation after seven days and then decide next course of action on lockdown," the chief minister said.

If it is seen that the number of cases are coming down during this period, then some relaxations will be announced, Banerjee added. The West Bengal chief minister urged people to maintain physical distance and wear face masks.

Banerjee directed the police to be strict with those violating norms and send back people home, if they are found without masks. The West Bengal government had on Tuesday decided to expand the areas under lockdown and impose tougher restrictions from July 9 to stem the relentless spike in COVID-19 cases.

Meanwhile,  the Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Delhi government to set a committee of its officers to look into the problems faced by critical patients, who are unable to receive treatment at Fortis Institute of Renal Science and Transplantation at Vasant Kunj since the institute has been converted into a COVID-19 facility.

Justice Navin Chawla, who conducted the hearing through video conferencing, said the Delhi government's panel will inspect the private hospital and also consult with its officials and submit its report before the court within 10 days.

The high court listed for July 21, hearing on a plea seeking quashing of a June 9 notice of the Delhi government's health department to the extent that it declared and allocated 100 per cent of the facilities and the beds at the hospital for COVID-19 treatment.

The petition filed by Rameshwar Dutt Kaushik and three other patients submitted that they are suffering from chronic renal failure and are in need for regular dialysis support at least thrice in a week, for four hours each, and also various tests on a regular basis which are critical to their lives.
'
Advocates Arjun Kakkar and Karan Kakkar, representing the patients, claimed that critically ill patients who were availing treatment at Fortis Hospital and who require life-saving support and health services on a regular/day-to-day basis, such as cancer patients for radiotherapy, dialysis, renal failure and Thalassemia have been deeply aggrieved by the government order as this hospital was a specialist treatment facility.