Covid-19: Lockdown extended in West Bengal till July 31 amid rising cases

There will be complete lockdown in only the containment zones, while elsewhere the relaxations allowed earlier will continue

Amid burgeoning cases of Covid- 19 in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday announced extension of the lockdown till July 31 with continuance of the existing relaxations. The current spell of the lockdown was to end on June 30.

West Bengal's Covid-19 death toll, meanwhile, rose to 591 as 11 more people succumbed to the disease, while 445 fresh cases pushed the state's tally to 15,173, health department officials said.

Banerjee told journalists after an all-party meeting that though the participants differed over ways to tackle the pandemic, consensus emerged that the lockdown should be extended with relaxations.

There will be