Coronavirus cases in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation area rose to 706 on Wednesday. Twenty-eight containment zones came up, of which 27 are located in Salt Lake.
Purbachal Market has been shut since July 2. “A fish monger, who lives in Duttabad, had tested positive after which I conducted a Covid-19 testing camp for all shopkeepers,” said councillor Minu Chakraborty. “A fruit seller from Sukantanagar tested positive at the camp. Cases have emerged from cluster II, III, 3R and IV as well. So we are taking no chances.”
The market will be shut till contact tracing can be done. “It is an uphill task as we are finding it difficult to determine which residents visited their shops,” said an official.
The civic body is mulling keeping all its 16 markets shut on alternate days to prevent the spread of Covid-19. “If we keep one market shut on a particular day, we’ll ensure a nearby market is still open. That way residents won’t be inconvenienced,” said the official on Wednesday night.
On Tuesday, 42 people had tested positive for Covid-19, making it the highest spike in the number of cases. On Wednesday, 19 new cases were reported from Salt Lake, Baguiati, Kestopur, Teghoria and parts of Rajarhat.
In neighbouring New Town, the total number of cases rose to 71, including 10 reported on Tuesday.
The NKDA Market near Eden Shop was shut for two days from Wednesday for sanitisation after a shop-keeper tested positive.
A deputy commissioner of Bidhannagar Commissionerate tested positive for Covid-19 along with his wife. Both of them are in home quarantine in Uniworld City.
