KOLKATA: A higher discharge rate and fewer
Covid deaths in the second half of 2020 have raised the city’s hopes. Kolkata’s active cases, now nearly at a six-month low, is at 2.1% of the 1.2 lakh
cases the city has reported since March 17. The discharge rate has also scaled the 95% mark, but Covid fatalities remain at 2.3%.
Kolkata reported 2,690 active cases on January 1. It had last reported fewer active cases on July 7, but on that day, when Kolkata had reported 2,552 active cases, its total Covid case count was 7,680. The active cases that day were at 33% of the total cases. On Friday, however, the total cases were at 1,23,605, of which only 2.1% were active. This is better than the national average of 2.4%. Bengal’s active Covid case count is much better — only 2% of its 5.5 lakh cases are active.
Bengal’s CFR is 1.7% and the national CFR is 1.4%. Kolkata’s CFR continues to remain 2.3%. Over 30% of Bengal’s Covid deaths have been reported in Kolkata. In Bengal, in nearly 84% of Covid fatalities, the patients had co-morbidities, a trend which has also been observed in Bengal. In Bengal, only Howrah’s CFR is more than that of Kolkata. The district has reported 1,007 Covid deaths among the 34,680 cases reported till Friday. Kolkata’s high CFR, however, has also coincided with a high discharge rate, which has now crossed the 95% mark. In Kolkata, 1,17,959 people have been successfully treated for Covid.
Kolkata had reported Bengal’s first Covid case, as well as the first Covid fatality. Barring a brief phase, when cases in North 24 Parganas overtook Kolkata, the city has been reporting highest Covid cases and fatalities in Bengal.
However, state health experts also point out that in Kolkata, in December, fewer people died of Covid since July, when the state started to analyze all Covid fatalities. In December, only 270 Covid deaths were reported, much lower than in the preceding months. August, the state health data indicated, had the worst — 530 deaths. October had 496 deaths in Kolkata. “Covid fatalities should be 1% of the total cases. In Kolkata, it is still a long battle, but the overall parameters have improved significantly,” an official said.
The drop in active cases has also unclogged the battered state Covid facilities in Kolkata, bringing some relief to healthcare professionals. For the first time since it was converted into a full-fledged Covid facility, MR Bangur Hospital now has 423 vacant beds while CNCI Rajarhat has 406. ID Hospital has 113 vacant Covid beds.
State-wide, Covid bed-occupancy has dropped to arou-nd 10%.