After allegations of hiding data, Bengal gives numbers on COVID-19 tests

New Delhi, May 06: Amidst several allegations from Centre of hiding data about coronavirus positive cases and deaths, the Home Secretary of West Bengal Alapan Bandyopadhyay has on Wednesday disclosed the numbers of COVID-19 daily tests and laboratories of the state.

Bandyopadhyay said that West Bengal conducts at an average of 2,500 tests every day and the state has 15 laboratories among which 10 are government and five are private.

COVID-19: West Bengal continues to be data hider No. 1

The statement comes one day after the mortality figures in Bengal alone rose by 72 in a day ie from 61 to 133 between Monday and Tuesday.

15 laboratories in the state, 10 government & 5 private, are conducting tests for #COVID19. Tests are being conducted every day at an average of 2500: Alapan Bandyopadhyay, West Bengal Home Secretary pic.twitter.com/CUCB4jvtAn

— ANI (@ANI) May 6, 2020

While the rise in cases could also be attributed to the relaxations in the lockdown norms in green and orange zones, sources say that the case burden was also mainly due to the previously hidden data becoming public now.

According to officials, West Bengal continues to hide data about the number of coronavirus cases.

West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar time and again alleged the Mamata Banerjee govt is concealing the actual number of death due to coronavirus.

Dhankhar accused Banerjee of having "abjectly failed" in combating the crisis emanating from the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, the Inter-Ministerial Central Team that visited West Bengal has said that the state has the highest mortality rate among coronavirus patients in the country. It said that at 12.8 per cent the mortality rate is the highest, while also accusing the state of low testing, discrepancies and weak surveillance.

Currently, the state has 1,344 coronavirus positive cases following 140 deaths.