The West Bengal government on Saturday decided to open cinema halls, jatras, open air theatres and allow musical and dance performances in the State from October 1, subject to physical distancing norms.
“To return to normalcy, Jatras, Plays, OATs, Cinemas & all musical, dance, recital & magic shows shall be allowed to function with 50 participants or less from 1 Oct, subject to adherence to physical distancing norms, wearing of masks & compliance with precautionary protocol,” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted. The decision comes ahead of the Durga Puja celebrations in the State. Cinema halls have remained shut since the nationwide coronavirus lockdown began in late March.
The relaxation, however, comes at a time when COVID-19 cases continue to rise, with the State recording more than 3,000 new cases and 50 deaths daily.
Cases touch 2.4 lakh
On Saturday, the State recorded 3,181 new COVID-19 infections taking the total number of cases to 2,44,240. As many as 56 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, taking the toll in the State to 4,721. The number of active cases are 25,544 and the discharge rate is 87.61%.
Of the 56 deaths reported in the past 24 hours, 13 were recorded in Kolkata, taking its toll to 1,652. The North 24 Parganas district recorded 14 deaths, taking the district’s toll to 1,064.
Of the new infections recorded in the past 24 hours, 668 were recorded in Kolkata, and 693 in North 24 Parganas.
