KOLKATA: Bengal’s active Covid case growth has slowed down in the past six days and on Sunday, with 36,761, it was at a nine-day low. On October 26, Bengal’s active Covid cases shot up to 37,190. Since then, with more Covid patients being discharged from hospitals than new cases being reported, the active case numbers have come down to what it was before October 24.
A section of experts, however, warned that the slide could be a temporary lull leading to another spurt. Active cases refer to the number of Covid patients who require medical attention. Kerala, Delhi and Haryana lead eight states and Union Territories in reporting a growth in active Covid cases.
According to the data released by the state health department, the active Covid case count in Bengal swelled by 10,630 in the October 1-October 26 phase, the sharpest active case spike noticed since Bengal reported its first case on March 17. However, in the October 27-November 1 phase, 19,987 Covid patients were discharged from hospitals compared to the 19,872 new cases reported in this period, slowing down the case growth. On the flip side, however, there is the marginal rise in positivity rate across Bengal. On Sunday, among the 44,457 samples tested, around 8.2% tested positive. On October 1, the state had a much lesser positivity rate of 7.9%. On Sunday, Bengal reported a discharge rate of 88.4%, a little less than the national discharge rate of 91.5%.
A reason behind the drop in active cases could be a partial herd immunity that has set in, according internal medicine consultant Rahul Jain. “A significant section has already got Covid and could now be acting as a shield. They are preventing transmission and keeping the number of cases in check. If more people get affected with mild symptoms, they will get treated and discharged earlier, reducing the number of active cases,” said Jain.
Greater awareness and more tests have also contributed to the drop, felt RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences consultant Arindam Biswas. “Initially, there was a tendency to hide the disease and reluctance to get tested. But people are now keen to get tested as they have realized that early detection can save lives,” he said.
He added the virus could also have lost some of its sting. “Every virus loses its potency with time and Covid could be no different. With transmission, it is bound to lose strength. But we are still not sure if a fresh wave is imminent and whether the virus will behave the same way,” he added.
South 24 Parganas has been consistently reporting more active Covid cases for the past several days. While more cases are being reported in Kolkata and North 24 Parganas daily, the discharge rates have also been significantly higher. Both Kolkata and North 24 Parganas — Bengal’s highest Covid prevalence zones — which reported over 7,000 active Covid cases a few days back, indicated a slowdown with Kolkata reporting 6,971 and North 24 Parganas reporting 6,689 Covid cases on Sunday.