West Bengal sees 2,000+ new cases in a day for first time; toll at a high of 27

KOLKATA: Bengal witnessed its highest single-day spike in fresh Covid cases on Saturday with the number of new infections crossing the 2,000-mark to touch 2,198. On Friday, 1,894 fresh cases had been reported. The total number of people affected in the state now stands at 40,209, of which 15,594 are active cases.
The state also recorded the highest number of discharges on a single day with 1,286 patients being sent home after treatment at different hospitals.
Kolkata also recorded its highest single-day spike on Saturday. Out of the 2,198 cases recorded in the past 24 hours, 648 were from the city. The highest spike for Kolkata before this was on July 14, when 524 had tested positive. Neighbouring North 24 Parganas had 554 new cases while Howrah and South 24 Parganas 160 and 142 cases respectively.
As many as 27 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the same as on July 9. With 12 deaths, Kolkata had the largest share of casualties. The total number of Covid deaths in Bengal has now touched 1,076.
On Saturday, the number of tests in the state was also the highest at 13,465.
Health experts said the coming days will see a surge in fresh cases as we are yet to reach the peak. tnn