Bengal: Another record surge in Covid cases, recovery rate continues to drop

The 3,573 infections pushed up the total case count to 2,87,603 and the active caseload increased to 29,296, while the toll rose to 5,501 with the deaths of 62 patients.

West Bengal’s Covid-19 recovery rate continued to decline on Friday, settling at 87.9 per cent, as the state reported a record rise in cases for the second straight day.

The 3,573 infections pushed up the total case count to 2,87,603 and the active caseload increased to 29,296, while the toll rose to 5,501 with the deaths of 62 patients. The current active caseload is the highest till date. It had risen to 28,069 on August 23, but declined to almost 23,000 in subsequent weeks before the current spell of increase.

On Friday, more than 60 per cent of the cases and 40 deaths were recorded in the South Bengal epicentre comprising Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah, and Hooghly.

Purba and Paschim Medinipur saw active cases drop, with the number of patients in Purba Medinipur now down to 1,172. The two districts, however, reported seven fatalities. In Nadia, another South Bengal district where the situation is alarming, the active caseload increased to 1,081.

Up in North Bengal, the situation continued to deteriorate in Malda, where active cases rose to 759. In Cooch Behar, it was up to 792 while Darjeeling continued to top the list in the region with 821 patients.

Reported on – 10th October 2020