Daily Covid cases in Kolkata drop to 1,759 – The Indian Express

Kolkata News

In a move that would ensure that patients get medical treatment on time, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will be appealing to residents opting for at-home Covid-19 testing kits to contact a pathology lab or the civic body to confirm the diagnosis, if they test positive. The drive will start Friday onwards and the announcements would be made on loudspeakers.

“From tomorrow, we will campaign on loudspeakers so that anyone who has tested positive using an at-home test kit can get themselves tested again through KMC. This way, if there is a need for hospitalisation they won’t face any complications,” said Kolkata’s Deputy Mayor Atin Ghosh.

He said that the decision would help the civic body get an accurate picture of the city’s Covid-19 graph. Currently, many residents are buying testing kits and isolating themselves if the test positive and not informing authorities, he said.

“It’s creating a big problem as we fail to understand who all are infected. In fact, even testing laboratories are not writing the addresses of patients properly, which results in miscommunication when we try to trace a Covid-19 patient. We appeal to the people that if they test positive at home they should either get themselves tested at KMC or any other health facilities and inform authorities. Because in case there is a need of hospitalisation it might create a problem,” said Ghosh. On Thursday, Kolkata clocked 1,759 new infections — the highest in the state but less than Wednesday’s tally — and nine deaths.

Meanwhile, West Bengal’s Covid-19 tally of new cases dipped to 10,959 on Thursday and the state recorded 37 more casualties over the past 24 hours, as per a health bulletin issued by the government. Thursday’s figures took the state’s caseload and toll to 19,39,920 and 20,230 respectively.

According to the bulletin, 17,815 more Covid-19 patients were discharged from hospitals in the last 24 hours. Bengal’s count of active cases currently stands at 1,44,809.

Over the past 24 hours, 67,367 samples have been tested in Bengal and its positivity rate stands at 16.27 per cent.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/covid-cases-kolkata-january-20-7734697/