Hospital authorities said the baby was also in the isolation ward, and they were allowing the mother to breastfeed him.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed that the incident was not related to her government’s ration distribution programme.

With all due respect, I challenge the honourable Governor to show me a single case of corruption in the ration system in which the Trinamool Congress or anyone attached to the party is involved.

COVID-19 is to be faced unitedly, fully supporting our health warriors. Coronavirus is secular, non-discriminatory and adversely impacts all, irrespective of ideology or status. In the country, the fight against this menace to civilisation is being spearheaded by the prime minister with vision and imagination, Jagdeep Dhankar said.

The Governor’s statement came a day after Banerjee lashed out at the Centre for sending its teams to the state to assess the implementation of the ongoing lockdown without prior confirmation.

One of the red zones in Kolkata, Raza Bazar area was barricaded and was teeming with a large posse of policemen. Streets were deserted.

At a press conference, Sinha said: “The state government today focussed on hotspots in seven districts —Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, North and South 24 Parganas, Nadia, and West Burdwan.”

Minister of Human Resource Development Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank acknowledged the initiative on his social media handle, congratulating the institute director Virendra K Tewari and his team of researchers.

According to police, the incident took place following a spat between Banshidhar Mallick and his son Sirshendu Mallick. After killing his son, Banshidhar went to the local police station and surrendered.

In an order, the health department noted that commuting to work every day “puts a daily physical and mental strain on the medical personnel, besides also putting them at risk of being exposed to the virus”.

MGNREGA workers will also be allowed to work in two-three days and officials with the rank of deputy-secretary rank have to work from office on every alternate day from Monday.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said the police and state administration cannot dictate the MPs’ actions, adding: “Such an activity by them is prohibited by applicable service law regime and amounts to major misconduct.”

“We have taken strong actions to enforce a total lockdown here. People are still coming out of their homes. Discipline cannot be enforced if we continue to be lenient and go soft on violators,” said an on-duty policeman on condition of anonymity.

“Major puja organisers in the city have informally decided to arrange pujas on a smaller scale. But there is no question of cancelling the celebrations,” said Sandipan Banerjee, vice-president, Forum for Durgotsab.

State Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development Subrata Mukherjee told The Indian Express that migrant workers will be allowed to apply for jobs if they are residents of the state.

The government filed a case against the BJP MP from Bankura, Subhash Sarkar, Thursday for allegedly spreading rumours about the deaths of two people.

"I am not aware of the reason. We have enough kits. Our lab is prepared to test at least 250 samples per day. We would welcome more samples for testing," said NICED Director Shanta Dutta.

In an interview to The Indian Express, Dutta said it was the treating physician who should decide whether a patient with coronavirus had died due to it.

The Public Works Department, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, and Public Health Engineering Department have been exempted from the extended lockdown from April 20.

The Centre’s data says there have been 190 positive cases in the state till date, and 36 patients have been discharged, putting the number of active cases at 154. Till date, seven people in West Bengal have died of the disease.

Modi announced that the lockdown would remain in place till May 3. Reacting to it, senior TMC leader and state minister Subrata Mukherjee said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had already announced the extension of the lockdown in the state.

Poila Boishak is among the days priests earn well. But with temples closed and people not holding rituals at home, their earnings have been hit hard. Since most don't have regular salaries, they stare at grim times.

A Division Bench of Justices Harish Tandon and Soumen Sen ordered the state government to submit a comprehensive report on the condition of children in various government and private homes, and the steps taken to ensure their well-being, by April 21.

“We had earlier stated that we would wait for the Centre’s decision and won’t have a differing opinion. The Prime Minister today said the lockdown will be extended till April 30. So, we have no difference of opinion," the CM said.