Bengal unlikely to completely lift COVID-19 restrictions after July 15: Official

KOLKATA: The West Bengal government may not completely lift the coronavirus-related restrictions that have been imposed in the state till July 15, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is likely to review the COVID-19 situation on Wednesday and the final call, he said.

"Though the pandemic situation in the state has improved a lot, withdrawing the restrictions completely might still be risky.

Nearby states like Tripura and Odisha and even Bangladesh have reported a surge in cases.

"Therefore, we need to be extra cautious. The CM will decide on it," the official told PTI.

He said that warnings by experts regarding a possible third wave will have to be considered as well before coming to a decision on lifting the restrictions.

"The positivity rate in the city and its surrounding districts are yet to settle at a satisfactory level, too," he added.

The West Bengal government had extended the COVID-19 curtailments till July 15, announcing certain relaxations.

The state reported 863 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the tally to 15,13,877, while the death toll mounted to 17,944 with 17 more fatalities, the health department said in a bulletin.

The state now has 14,191 active cases and 14,81,742 people have recovered from the disease, it said.

The positivity rate has declined to 1.84 per cent, and the discharge rate improved to 97.88 per cent.

Altogether, 1,48,61,930 samples have been tested for COVID-19 in West Bengal, including 46,909 since Monday, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, 2,22,074 people were inoculated in the state on Tuesday, a health department official said.