Kolkata: Hours after extending the lockdown restrictions till August 15, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday evening allowed the cinema halls in the state to repen with 50% seating capacity, with proper COVID protocols in place. On the other hand, the state government said all spas and swimming pools will continue to remain shut until further notice.
In the fresh guidelines, the state government said that the swimming pools exclusively for routine practice of state, national, international level swimmers may remain open from 6 to 10 AM.
However, all political, social, cultural, academic, entertainment-related gatherings, groupings and congregations shall continue to be prohibited.
The state government said the ban on vehicular movement between 9 pm and 5 am, except for those engaged in emergency services, will continue to be in force.
The state government said that the inter-state trains, factories, schools, colleges, and all educational institutes will remain closed. Only staff special local trains will be operational for the time being, the order stated.
According to the previous order, the metro trains will operate five days a week with 50 per cent seating capacity. The service, however, will be suspended every Saturday and Sunday till further orders.
Earlier in the day, the West Bengal government extended the existing restrictions till August 15, but also announced certain relaxations.
As per the order, the administration allowed government programmes at indoor facilities with 50 per cent seating capacity. Offices, both government and private, are also allowed to function with half the manpower, it said
The health and emergency services, law and order, and essential commodities have been kept out of the purview of night-time restrictions.
The restrictions, imposed on May 16, were last extended till July 30. All the district administrations were asked to ensure strict compliance of directives related to wearing of masks and social distancing.
“Any violation of the restriction measures will be liable to be proceeded against as per the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and relevant sections of the IPC,” the order stated.