Covid toll touches 200 in West Bengal, cases record biggest jump

Most infections were detected in Kolkata (52), followed by Howrah (48), Malda (31), North 24 Parganas (21), Hooghly (20) and Uttar Dinajpur (13).

The coronavirus disease (Covid-19) toll in West Bengal touched 200 on Sunday as the state government reported three more deaths — two in Kolkata and one in Hooghly. If deaths due to comorbidities are considered, the toll is 272.

Meanwhile, the positive case count registered the highest-ever increase, with 208 people reported to have contracted the virus in the 24-hour period till 9 am. In total, 3,667 people in the state have tested positive till date.

Most infections were detected in Kolkata (52), followed by Howrah (48), Malda (31), North 24 Parganas (21), Hooghly (20) and Uttar Dinajpur (13). The other districts where cases were reported are South 24 Parganas, Purba and Paschim Bardhaman, Murshidabad, Nadia, and Birbhum.

This surge in positive cases came a day after the Union Health Ministry said 11 municipal areas in West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan account for 70 per cent of the active caseload. The Centre asked these municipal areas to step up monitoring in old cities, urban slums and other high density pockets such as camps and clusters for migrant workers.

According to the latest health bulletin, 58 patients were discharged in 24 hours, taking the total number of recovered patients to 1,339. The active case count increased by 147 to 2,056.

The health department said it had tested 9,216 samples in 24 hours, pushing up the cumulative figure to 1,38,824. The test positivity rate, or the proportion of active cases among the samples tested, is 2.64%. According to the department, 16,265 people are in government quarantine, while 1,02,349 people are isolated at home.