Covid active cases rise in Bengal after a gap -The total number of infections in the state is nearly 1.87 lakh, of which over 1.6 lakh are recoveries

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |  09.09.20  : Bengal on Tuesday reported 3,091 new Covid-19 cases, 57 deaths and 2,996 recoveries.

With more cases than recoveries, Bengal ended its 15-day streak of a dip in total active cases. For the first time since August 23, active cases rose by 38 to touch 23,254 in all.

With this, the total number of infections in Bengal is nearly 1.87 lakh, of which over 1.6 lakh are recoveries.

Of the 57 deaths, 19 were from Calcutta and 12 from North 24-Parganas, raising the toll to 3,677 in all. Sixty-one per cent of Bengal’s Covid toll came from these two districts. Of the total deaths, 3,165 (86.1 per cent) were reported comorbid by the state government.

Bengal’s overall mortality rate improved to 1.96, but the national rate is still lower at 1.69 per cent. Bengal is sixth among states with the highest Covid mortality rates, and seventh among states with the most deaths.

The state’s recovery rate, however, continued to climb, reaching 85.6 per cent on Tuesday. The national rate is 77.78 per cent now.

“On August 23, we had 28,069 active cases. Yesterday (Monday), it was 23,216. Sure, we saw a bit of a rise after 15 days today (Tuesday), but we will get back on track. Our recoveries will keep rising. We need to find ways to lower the surge in new cases and steady the toll of deaths,” said a minister.

In a trend that began about a month ago, the five most high-incidence districts of Bengal — Calcutta, North and South 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly — collectively recorded a fall, by 158 on Tuesday, in their total active cases. For instance, from the 7,041 active cases of August 9, Calcutta improved to 4,067 on Tuesday.

Bengal logged over 42,000 tests on Tuesday, taking the total past 22.43 lakh. It now has 24,925 tests per million people.

Steady rise in testing, coupled with relatively lower cases dragged down the positive confirmation rate from 8.9 on August 23 to 8.33 per cent. A declining positive confirmation rate indicates reducing levels of Covid-19 spread.

The state reported 33.67 per cent occupancy of 12,385 Covid-19 beds in 92 hospitals, besides 15.34 in 11,507 beds of the 200 safe homes.

Telemedicine services have been provided to over 1.83 lakh, 4,212 of them in the past 24 hours.