West Bengal recorded 2,905 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, pushing its case tally to 98,459. The State also reported 41 more fatalities, taking its death toll to 2,100.

Of the latest deaths, 14 were reported from Kolkata and 12 from North 24 Parganas district. Among the victims, three were doctors. So far, 19 doctors have succumbed to the virus in the State. Of the total cases, 26,031 are active, while the State’s recovery rate stands at 71.43%. A total of 26,297 samples were tested in the State in the past 24 hours.

The West Bengal Doctors’ Forum said, “The fraternity is losing precious members every day. These deaths are extremely damaging to the morale of medical professionals on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19.”

A senior State Health Department official said 20.79% of the COVID-19 victims so far were aged 61 years and above.

The official said victims in the 61-75 age group were found to have comorbidties such as hypertension, diabetes, renal disease, cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Of the victims, 14.18% were over 75 years, and 6.61% belonged to the 61-75 age group.

Senior physician Dr. Syamasis Bandyopadhyay said, “Age is definitely a factor, as the body’s immune system tends to weaken as people grow old, which, in turn, affects their ability to combat a disease. Moreover, they are also fighting multiple age-related ailments like diabetes, hypertension, coronary artery disease, renal failure and more. That is why the COVID-19 death rate is comparatively higher among the older population.”

The State health official said 1,822 patients in State died due to comorbidities and COVID-19 in these cases were “incidental”. The official said among the male victims, 25.48% had hypertension, 20.27% were diabetic, and 21.49% were suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Of the female victims, 25.56% had hypertension, 24.44% were suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 20.23% were diabetic.