Kolkata, July 23 (PTI) Life came to a near standstill across West Bengal on Thursday as the state was put under a complete lockdown to break the chain of rapidly rising COVID-19 cases.

All shops were shut and all modes of transport went off the road as part of the state government's plan to clamp restrictions two days a week. A similar lockdown will be in place on July 25 and 29.

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The step to implement the bi-weekly lockdown was taken amid admission of community transmission in some parts of the state.

Special police teams were seen patrolling various parts of the city, especially containment zones.

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Barricades were put up in various parts of the state to stop people from coming out of their homes and areas.

Both government and private, commercial establishments, public and private transport, as well as activities other than under emergency services would remain closed on these days.

The state presently has 930 broad-based containment zones.

The death toll in West Bengal mounted to 1,221 as it reported the worst daily spike of 39 fatalities on Wednesday, the health department said. It also recorded 2,291 fresh infections, pushing the tally to 49,321, it said in a bulletin. PTI PNT RG DV DV 07231119 NNNNeen excitement-free for me — quite a bizarre feeling after decades of following my London team, Arsenal, in the flesh at home and abroad.

So far, the team hasn't played a ''home'' match that I would normally attend. Watching other empty stadia has featured a decision: whether to choose the fake audio atmosphere generated by the channels.

No, thanks. That ranks with laugh tracks, lip synching and ghostwriting. So it's natural sound for me — the agitated strains of players, coaches and the ball being kicked and headed.

The first two matches I watched, my team lost. Once, against a superior team, barely registered on the anger scales. The second, against an inferior one, rankled due to a long-term injury to our goalkeeper because of unnecessary foul play from an opponent who then rubbed salt in the wound by scoring the winning goal in the dying seconds.

But it passed quickly, quicker than it ever would have in the past. A close friend and colleague who has also supported Arsenal all his life felt the same watching live from New York in our hyper-connected world. We WhatsApp-ed, then moved on with the rest of our weekends.

The same friend and I had attended a match that we still reminisce about where a winning goal, a penalty deep into stoppage time, had sent my row bonkers, us included, and seemed to take the roof off.

Those are the joys. Camaraderie with several people I sit with as a season ticket holder for more than a quarter century. The pre-match rituals, the pub for a couple looseners (or not, in the event my teenage son, who has gone off the game in the last few years, accompanies me — a rare treat).

Then on Thursday, a win — but dreary watching nonetheless. I'll keep watching the matches every few days as the league races to complete the interrupted season. But let's not kid ourselves: Like so much else, this was a financial decision as lockdowns are eased across the world to resuscitate flatlining economies.

Hundreds of millions in various currencies are at stake for the monstrous cash-cow brand; global TV rights are in the balance.

But the first ''home"" game of the pandemic rest-of-season this week will feel especially soulless to view denuded of fans and denuded of me. And I cannot even fathom when it will cease to be insanity to attend an event with some 60,000 other people again.

Memories fortify. Maybe Humphrey Bogart's Rick was right in ''Casablanca'': "We'll always have ...'' ___

Virus Diary, an occasional feature, showcases the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of Associated Press journalists around the world. See previous entries here. AP

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)