Kolkata, April 21: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday visited a number of places in the city and urged people to stay indoors and exercise necessary precaution to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Banerjee's short tour of the metropolis in the afternoon included the minority-dominated areas of Park Circus, Topsia and Rajabazar, and came amid the visit by central teams to the state to assess the COVID-19 situation. Mamata Banerjee Government Blames 'Defective Test Kits' Supplied by ICMR For Testing Delays in West Bengal.

"I would request all my brothers and sisters to please stay indoors as this is the only way to stop the spread of this contagion. We have never witnessed such a lockdown, but it is needed to fight this disease.

"If you face any problem, please let the police know about it. They will help you out," Banerjee said through public address system from inside her car. The Union home ministry said on Monday morning the COVID-19 situation is

"especially serious" in Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata and a few other places in West Bengal, and that the violation of lockdown measures risk the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The central government has constituted six Inter- Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to make an on-spot assessment of the COVID-19 situation in these places.

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