Roads and streets of Kolkata wore a deserted look on Monday as the lockdown in the city and several other areas of West Bengal began at 5 pm, which will continue till March 27, officials said.
Police personnel were seen asking people through public address systems to return homes and shopkeepers to down the shutters of their business establishments.
A 57-year-old man infected with coronavirus died at a hospital in the city earlier in the day, making it the first COVID-19 death in the state.
Six other persons from the state are infected with coronavirus.
According to a state government notification issued on Sunday, Kolkata and all other urban areas of the state will be under lockdown from 5 pm on Monday till March 27 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The lockdown will apply to areas under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, all municipal towns in North 24 Parganas district besides Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, West Burdwan, North Dinajpur and Howrah districts.
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Siliguri, Darjeeling and Kurseong towns will also be put under the lockdown, according to the notification.
All shops, commercial establishments, offices, factories and workshops shall also shut their operations, it said.
"People are required to stay at home and come out only for basic services. Any congregation of more than seven persons shall be prohibited in public places," the notification said.
Foodgrains, groceries, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, bread, milk, medical services, home delivery, petrol pumps, pharmacies, the IT sector and banks and ATMs, among others, have been exempted from the purview of the lockdown.