Covid active cases up to 28,854 in Bengal: Record rise in cases, recovery rate drops for 2nd straight day

The Health Department said 2,415 patients were still in government quarantine, 80,427 people remain isolated at home and there are 1,408 people in safe homes.

West Bengal on Thursday reported a record 3,526 cases of Covid-19 infection even as its recovery rate took a hit for the second straight day and dropped to 87.93 per cent. On Wednesday, the discharge rate, one of the highest in India, had dropped for the first time since August 8, almost two months ago.

The increase in cases pushed up the statewide active caseload to 28,854 even as the overall case count rose to 2,84,030. The health authorities also announced 63 deaths that took the toll to 5,439.

Over 60 per cent of the new cases, and 41 fatalities. were recorded In the pandemic hotspot. In this hotbed of infection, Kolkata leads the list of active cases with 6,258 patients, closely followed by North 24 Parganas with 6,235.

The districts of Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur recorded eight fatalities, Paschim Medinipur’s active caseload dropped below 1,000 for the first time since August 22, bringing relief to health authorities. In Nadia district, the situation continued to remain grave as the district still has over a thousand active cases.

In North Bengal, the infection has again picked up pace in Malda and Darjeeling districts. Malda now has 728 active cases, while Darjeeling tops the list with 803. Cooch Behar also has a high active caseload of 780.

According to the health bulletin, in which figures are updated till 9 am, 42,441 tests were conducted in 24 hours. The test positivity rate registered a marginal increase to 7.97 per cent.

The Health Department said 2,415 patients were still in government quarantine, 80,427 people remain isolated at home and there are 1,408 people in safe homes.

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