West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s brother dies of Covid-19

Ashim Banerjee was undergoing treatment at a private hospital since contracting Covid-19.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (File Photo)

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s brother Ashim Banerjee died of Covid-related complications in Kolkata on Saturday. He was 60.

Ashim was undergoing treatment at a private hospital since contracting the virus. The last rites will be conducted on Saturday as per Covid protocols.

The state on Friday recorded its highest single-day spike of 20,846 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the tally to 10,94,802, the health department said in its bulletin. The death toll rose to 12,993 after 136 more people succumbed to the infection.

Bengal currently has 1,31,792 active cases.

The government has also declared a lockdown for a fortnight from 6 am on Sunday, May 16, to 6 pm on May 30. It has imposed a night curfew too from 9 pm to 5 am beginning Sunday night.

“To ensure health of the people and control the Covid-19 situation, we are forced to impose this. There is now an unprecedent situation in the state where the scarcity of oxygen and other medicines is increasing. To control this situation, we are imposing strict conditions on the movement of transport and other sectors for two weeks,” Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.

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