Bengal: Covid-19 kills 13 people in last 24 hrs; More than 1,000 cases added in record 2 days – The Indian Express

The case count on Sunday stood at 8,187. (Rerpresentational)

West Bengal recorded its fastest increase in 1,000 Covid-19 cases on Sunday, reaching the 8,000-mark in a span of two days, even as 13 more people died of the disease.

The state health department reported the highest single-day surge in cases for the third straight day, with 449 people testing positive for the infection. On Saturday, 435 cases had been detected, and 427 people had tested positive the day before. The case count on Sunday stood at 8,187.

Following this massive surge, which state officials had last month warned would occur because of the return of migrant labourers from other states, West Bengal now trails Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh in terms of total positive cases. However, among all these states, the percentage increase since the beginning of the month has been the highest in West Bengal, which has recorded a 49% rise in cases, followed by Tamil Nadu (42%), and Delhi (39%).

Among West Bengal’s districts, Paschim Medinipur recorded the most number of infections on Sunday, with 84, followed by 74 cases in Kolkata, 68 in North 24 Parganas and 37 each in Howrah and Hooghly. Unlike other days, all the districts reported positive cases on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a Kolkata Police constable undergoing treatment for Covid-19 died late Saturday evening, said a source at the Health Department. The constable was posted at the Shakespeare Sarani police station.

However, the health department did not state the cause of his death. “Whether he died of any co-morbidity also needs to be checked,” said the source.

Of the 13 deaths announced by the state in the health bulletin, in which figures are updated till 9 am, seven occurred in Kolkata, three in North 24 Parganas, two in Howrah and one in Darjeeling. The toll rose to 324. It is 396 if deaths due to comorbidities are counted.

With 184 people discharged from hospitals in 24 hours, the number of recovered patients increased to 3,303. The active case count rose to 4,488.

According to the health bulletin, health officials tested 9,786 samples in 24 hours, pushing up the total number of specimens examined till date to 2,71,074. The test positivity rate is 3.02%.

The government said 1,38,419 migrant workers were in special quarantine centres while an additional 22,695 people were in institutional quarantine facilities. At present, 1,54,682 people are isolated at home.

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