As India 'unlocks', West Bengal extends lockdown till June 30

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, CM Banerjee said, "We have decided to extend the lockdown till June 30 in West Bengal."

Earlier, the state had extended the lockdown till June 15. However, places of worship were allowed to reopen from June 1.

Meanwhile, in most regions across India, restaurants, religious places, shopping malls, hotels and hospitality units have started reopening.

Banerjee announced that the family of deceased COVID-19 patients will now be allowed to see them and pay their respects. Guidelines regarding the same were amended on Sunday.

She also said that now, up to 25 people will be allowed to attend marriage or funeral gatherings. The limit on such gatherings has been raised from 10 people earlier.

Till Sunday, West Bengal had reported a total of 8,187 cases after recording 449 new cases in the past 24 hours—its biggest spike yet.

The state has also reported 324 COVID-19 deaths and 72 "co-morbid" deaths; total 396.

West Bengal's tally is the eighth-highest in India. The nationwide tally has crossed 2.56 lakh which includes 7,200 deaths, 1,24,981 active cases, and 1,24,429 recoveries.

The Mizoram government has also decided to impose a two-week "total lockdown" in the state from Tuesday (June 9).

The decision was taken after a consultative meeting chaired by CM Zoramthanga.

The state had largely remained unaffected by the virus, reporting just one case till May-end. It has now reported 42 cases with eight new cases on Monday.

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu had earlier extended the lockdown till June 30.

Earlier this month, Manipur had also extended the lockdown till June 30. The state had also remained largely unaffected by the outbreak till late-May but has now reported 209 cases.

Northeastern states are now witnessing a surge in cases as the central government has allowed inter-state movement.