KOLKATA: Over a third of the Covid-19 cases in Bengal as well as deaths have been detected in the past fortnight, indicating the rapid acceleration of the contagion despite multiple measures to contain the spread.
Since July 31, a whopping 40,170 fresh cases have been reported to take the state’s Covid-19 tally to 1,10,358 on Friday. On July 31, the tally was 70,188.
The active Covid cases, however, were at 26,850 on Friday. This is an increase of 6,214 active cases in the last two weeks. On July 31, the active case count in Bengal stood at 20,233. Experts attribute this to the high discharge rate, which on Friday was at 73.5%, which is higher than the national average of 71.1%.
Kolkata also shows this trend. While total Covid cases in Kolkata shot up from 21,639 to 31,085 — an increase of 9,446 cases — in the last two weeks, the city’s active Covid cases increased by only 184 during the same time. On July 31, Kolkata’s active Covid-19 case count was 6,373. On Friday, the active Covid cases stood at 6,557.
The toll, though, in Bengal has gone up by 40%. In all, 738 Covid patients have died in the past fortnight, taking the deaths from 1,581 till July 31 to 2,319 as on Friday.
“We are going through the worst phase and the numbers are rising every day. This was waiting to happen and it will continue for a few more weeks. It is important to be on our guard during this period and ensure we restrict the number of casualties. The only bright spot perhaps is that the number of active cases has not gone up. This shows that we are being able to treat patients successfully. But it’s just as important to prevent transmission that has been rampant ever since the lockdown was relaxed. Only fewer transmission can help to restrict the numbers,” said Arindam Biswas, consultant, RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences.
While 19,478 fresh cases were reported in the first week of August, the second week saw 20,692 cases. But the death rate declined marginally. Against 373 deaths reported in the first week of the month, the second week saw 365 fatalities.
While cases have exploded in the state along with the rest of the country with new spikes being recorded every day, detection has also increased manifold with number of tests progressively going up from 19,003 conducted on July 31 to 31,317 on Friday. The cumulative test figure has gone up from 8,93,400 till July 31 to 12,48,272 as on Friday.
“More tests are definitely a reason why numbers have spiked,” said Biswas.
The state is now approaching the peak, said Shyamasis Bandopadhyay, consultant, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital. “It may not be possible to prevent the spurt for several more weeks. It’s difficult to predict how long this spiral will continue. But if we go by the Delhi experience, we are perhaps not too far away from the point where the rise will stop and the numbers will start falling,” he said.
Since July 31, a whopping 40,170 fresh cases have been reported to take the state’s Covid-19 tally to 1,10,358 on Friday. On July 31, the tally was 70,188.
The active Covid cases, however, were at 26,850 on Friday. This is an increase of 6,214 active cases in the last two weeks. On July 31, the active case count in Bengal stood at 20,233. Experts attribute this to the high discharge rate, which on Friday was at 73.5%, which is higher than the national average of 71.1%.
Kolkata also shows this trend. While total Covid cases in Kolkata shot up from 21,639 to 31,085 — an increase of 9,446 cases — in the last two weeks, the city’s active Covid cases increased by only 184 during the same time. On July 31, Kolkata’s active Covid-19 case count was 6,373. On Friday, the active Covid cases stood at 6,557.
The toll, though, in Bengal has gone up by 40%. In all, 738 Covid patients have died in the past fortnight, taking the deaths from 1,581 till July 31 to 2,319 as on Friday.
“We are going through the worst phase and the numbers are rising every day. This was waiting to happen and it will continue for a few more weeks. It is important to be on our guard during this period and ensure we restrict the number of casualties. The only bright spot perhaps is that the number of active cases has not gone up. This shows that we are being able to treat patients successfully. But it’s just as important to prevent transmission that has been rampant ever since the lockdown was relaxed. Only fewer transmission can help to restrict the numbers,” said Arindam Biswas, consultant, RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences.
While 19,478 fresh cases were reported in the first week of August, the second week saw 20,692 cases. But the death rate declined marginally. Against 373 deaths reported in the first week of the month, the second week saw 365 fatalities.
While cases have exploded in the state along with the rest of the country with new spikes being recorded every day, detection has also increased manifold with number of tests progressively going up from 19,003 conducted on July 31 to 31,317 on Friday. The cumulative test figure has gone up from 8,93,400 till July 31 to 12,48,272 as on Friday.
“More tests are definitely a reason why numbers have spiked,” said Biswas.
The state is now approaching the peak, said Shyamasis Bandopadhyay, consultant, Apollo Gleneagles Hospital. “It may not be possible to prevent the spurt for several more weeks. It’s difficult to predict how long this spiral will continue. But if we go by the Delhi experience, we are perhaps not too far away from the point where the rise will stop and the numbers will start falling,” he said.
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