Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has extended the current lockdown with relaxations in the state from June 30 to July 31. Announcing this at the end of a 3-hour all party meeting today, Ms Banerjee said, "The COVID-19 problem is spreading. Let is try and extend the lockdown with restrictions till July 31." Bengal recorded 445 new cases of coronavirus today, which took the total to 15,173. Of these, the number of active cases is 4,890. Besides, 11 deaths were recorded which brought the total to 591.
"I announce this as the government decision, the lockdown has been extended in Bengal amidst rising COVID-19 numbers across the country. This is in order to help the entire nation. Our relaxations will continue. Schools, colleges and universities will remain shut till July 31. As far as government offices are concerned, the operations will continue in a staggered manner as of now," Banerjee said after the meeting held at an auditorium adjacent to the state secretariat. West Bengal has, so far, recorded 14,728 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 580 people have succumbed to the infection, according to the Union Health Ministry.