Bengal To Close Schools From Tomorrow, All Offices To Work With 50% Staff

Kolkata:

Bengal on Sunday re-imposed sure Covid restrictions – closing of colleges and schools, and capping attendance at personal and authorities places of work at 50 per cent – within the gentle of a worrying enhance in every day circumstances, together with these of the Omicron variant.

A ten pm – 5 am evening curfew has been ordered, following within the footsteps of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Solely important and emergency companies can function on this time.

Beginning tomorrow (Monday), faculties, schools and universities in Bengal will probably be closed, as will swimming swimming pools, gyms, spas and sweetness salons, and wellness centres.

“Authorities and personal places of work can work at 50 per cent capability, with all administrative conferences to be performed nearly,” Bengal Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi mentioned.

Work at home will probably be inspired as a lot as doable.

Kolkata Metro companies can even be capped at 50 per cent capability and native trains can run solely until 7 pm. Lengthy-distance trains, nevertheless, will probably be allowed to run usually.

Cinema halls, eating places and bars can operate at 50 per cent capability and as much as 10 pm.

Buying malls can keep open from 10 am to five pm, however crowds have to be at 50 per cent.

Attendance at gatherings for marriages and different social, spiritual and cultural events will probably be restricted to 50 individuals, whereas these for funerals or burials will probably be restricted to twenty.

The state reported 4,512 new COVID-19 circumstances yesterday, which takes its lively caseload to 13,300 – the third-highest within the nation after Maharashtra and Kerala.

Bengal has additionally reported 20 circumstances of the extra infectious Omicron variant, the fast unfold of which has triggered alarm bells internationally and in India.