Published 21:34 IST, July 7th 2020
West Bengal: Strict lockdown to be imposed in containment zones from July 9
The West Bengal government on Tuesday decided to impose complete shutdown in containment zones and buffer zones across the state from July 9.
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In a bid to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus, the West Bengal government on Tuesday decided to impose complete shutdown in containment zones and buffer zones across the state from July 9. Issuing a notification, the state government said private and government offices in containment zones and buffer zones will remain shut.
The notification further allowed essential services to run as usual in these zones. The government also suspended transport services in these zones across the state. It said the relaxations will be given only in green zones
Mamata govt directs Bengal's COVID hospitals to issue death certificates as per ICMR rules
Earlier, the Mamata Banerjee-government in West Bengal advised all COVID-19 hospitals in the state to issue death certificates according to the guidelines set by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The department also advised the hospitals that "before putting hypoxic patients on ventilators, high flow nasal oxygen therapy should be tried as per the guideline". The move would cut down on the use of mechanical ventilators amid the surge in coronavirus cases, a senior official of the health department said.
If that does not help, patients should be put on conventional ventilators, the official added. "With the number of COVID-19 cases soaring every day, we have to have ICUs and ventilators ready for patients at all times. But the number of ventilators the state has at the moment is not enough to support them all," he said. West Bengal currently has 395 ventilators and 948 ICU beds in its COVID-19 hospitals, according to state health department data.
The death toll due to COVID-19 in West Bengal mounted to 779 on Monday with the highest one-day spike of 22 fatalities. The total infection tally in the state is at 22,987. The number of active patients rose to 6,973, it said.
21:34 IST, July 7th 2020