Amid the tension corona virus cases, the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has extended the embargo on direct flights to Kolkata from six Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai and Ahmedabad till August 31.
Notably, the ban on flights from these COVID-hit cities came into force on July 6, later it was extended till July 31 and then to August 15.
The suspension of flights to Kolkata from high COVID-19 prevalence cities (viz. Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Chennai & Ahmedabad) will continue till 31st August”, said the West Bengal Government.
The devlopment comes a day after West Bengal witnessed 2,905 new coronavirus cases. The state’s caseload has gone up to 98,459, while the death toll has reached 2,100 after 41 fresh fatalities.
Kolkata accounted for 14 fresh deaths, while 12 fatalities were reported from North 24 Parganas, four from Howrah, three from South 24 Parganas, two each from Nadia and Murshidabad and one each from Purba and Paschim Medinipur, Hooghly and Purba Bardhaman districts.
Among the new cases, the city registered 618 infections, followed by 492 in North 24 Parganas, 218 in Purba Medinipur, 209 in Howrah, 195 in South 24 Parganas, 133 in Darjeeling and 112 in Malda. The remaining of 928 cases were reported from 16 other districts of the state.
Meanwhile, three doctors –Dr Biswajit Mondal, Dr Tapan Sinha and Dr Pradip Bhattacharya, who were treating COVID-19 patients in different private hospitals, succumbed to the disease.
