Daily sample testing in Bengal peaked at 24,047 (file)
Calcutta:
West Bengal recorded the highest number of fresh coronavirus cases and virus deaths on Wednesday. 2,816 new cases were recorded in the state on Wednesday while 61 COVID-19 patients have died in the past 24 hours. At first, the state’s North 24 Parganas passed Kolkata and reported 709 new cases of coronavirus, 44 more than the state capital.
A Trinamool Congress (TMC) advisor from the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation has died of coronavirus after a 12-day battle in hospital. Another TMC MP tested positive in South 24 Parganas, as did a party MP and her husband in Malda.
Kolkata continues to be the district with the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the state with at least 25 deaths on Wednesday. Contiguous Howrah reported 293 new cases, while Hooghly and Malda reported 146 and 144 cases, respectively.
278 patients were released on Wednesday, bringing the discharge rate to 70.36% – the highest on record. Daily sample testing also peaked at 24,047, pushing the total number of tests to over 10 lakh for the first time. The positivity rate rose to 8.35%.
The total number of beds allocated for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in public hospitals across the state stands at 11,560, of which 7,035 beds are currently vacant.
948 intensive care beds are also available in the state. Wednesday’s health department bulletin estimated the number of ventilators at 395, three more than the ventilator count reported on June 1.
Of the 2,566 private hospital beds, 431 were listed as vacant in the Department of Health bulletin on Wednesday. Of the 62 hospitals in Kolkata and surrounding areas with the above number of beds, 24 reported having no vacant beds.
Meanwhile, there are 1,258 containment zones across the state. Kolkata has 40 containment zones, while North 24 Paraganas has 110, Howrah has 91, Hooghly has 42 and South 24 Parganas has 63. These are the districts that report the highest number of new cases almost regularly.
India’s coronavirus count crossed 19 lakh on Wednesday after 52,509 people tested positive in the past 24 hours, while the death toll rose by 857 to 39,795, according to figures from the Ministry of Health of the ‘Union. India has the third highest number of coronavirus cases in the world after the United States and Brazil.
