The West Bengal government brought back stricter COVID-related restrictions amid a steep rise in cases, shutting all educational institutions from Monday and allowing offices to operate with 50 per cent workforce. Across the nation, 27,553 fresh infections were reported, largely driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi announced that only essential services will be permitted between 10 pm and 5 am in the state. Local trains would be allowed to operate with 50 per cent capacity till 7 pm, while all shopping malls and markets would be allowed to remain open till 10 pm but with half their capacities, he said. The state on Saturday reported 4,512 fresh cases, 1,061 more than the previous day, with Kolkata accounting for 2,398 new cases, showed government data.