Micro containment zones will be outlined in specific areas in the state to keep the spread of Covid-19 under check, said a state government official.

The official said, “The state government has asked the districts, including Kolkata, to prepare a list of containment zones. The focus would be on urban areas from where most cases have been reported.”

Curbs and restrictions on public transport, markets and shops have been extended till June 30. Apart from that, offices are also operating with 25% work force. The official cited above said that the containment zones will be announced as soon as the respective districts have identified them.

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A total of 18 containment zones have already been marked in Howrah. Officials in Kolkata and North 24 Parganas are preparing lists based on active Covid19 cases over the past few days. An official said that there could be around 15 such micro-containment zones in North 24 Parganas including one in Lake Town-Bangur and 18 neighbourhoods in Howrah. These zones are slated to be announced this morning. West Bengal government has asked the KMC and the districts to map out “local hot spots” and “pockets of high incidence” and introduce “containment and micro-containment measures” to curb the spread.

An official of Kolkata’s civic body said, “The Kolkata Municipal Corporation’s health officers at the borough level have been asked to prepare a report based on the daily count and the active cases in the city which will decide the containment zones.”

A senior official said, “Even though there are restrictions, people still step out, even those who have someone in the family infected with the virus. Such movement could be checked if containment zones are declared.”

State government officials said that initially during the first wave, an entire area, which had more than five active cases, was declared a containment zone. Later on, as the pandemic ravaged on, even individual houses were declared as containment zones.

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In May 2020, Kolkata had more than 300 containment zones. This number shot up to more than 1,000 in June 2020. On October 22 last year, the daily count of Covid19-cases during the first wave peaked at 4,157. In the second wave, the daily count peaked at 20,846 on May 14 this year.

The data shared by the state health department shows that cases have steadily been coming down. The daily Covid19 case-count has dropped to 3,187 on Wednesday. Out of the total data, Kolkata and North 24 Parganas reported 377 and 435 fresh cases respectively. Among other districts, East Midnapore district reported 432 cases, while Howrah and South 24 Parganas reported 202 and 192 cases respectively.