Covid-19 recoveries, tests rise in Bengal -Of the 414 new cases, over 98% came from districts with returnees; Calcutta reported 126

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya, TT, 22.06.20, Calcutta: Bengal on Sunday reported the seventh drop in eight days in active Covid-19 cases that brought the number down to 5,093 now, a drop of 600 active cases since June 13.

The eight-day period also saw 3,755 recoveries or over 45 per cent of the total number of recoveries in the state since the onset of the pandemic. The total number of recoveries has crossed 8,000. In these eight days, recovery rate also rose by over 17 per cent to 59.49. A month ago, the recovery rate was 36.64 per cent.

However, Bengal reported 15 more Covid-19 casualties, which has taken the total pandemic toll to 555. Of them, the state government reported 405 or 73 per cent as deaths with comorbidity “present”.

Calcutta reported the most deaths at 329. While Bengal’s overall mortality rate stood at 3.97 per cent, that of the city was 7.07.

Of the 414 new Covid-19 cases reported on Sunday, over 98 per cent came from districts with a high volume of returnees. Calcutta reported 126.

Owing to the rise in new cases, positive confirmation rate — the percentage of people found infected among those tested — went up from 2.76 per cent a month ago to 3.47 per cent.

However, a Bengal minister spoke about two major positives — rise in recoveries and tests. “We are on course to go past 10,000 recoveries by Wednesday or Thursday. The total recoveries are now decisively higher than the total active cases and that gap is likely to widen,” the minister said.

Bengal also reported 10,549 Covid-19 tests in 24 hours, the highest yet, taking the total test count to 401,491. Bengal has now conducted 4,461 tests per million.

“We started testing in early February. It took us over three-and-a-half months to get past the 1 lakh test mark on May 19. After that, we crossed 2 lakh in 12 days (May 31) and 3 lakh in 11 days (June 11). We went past 4 lakh in 10 days. We held over 3 lakh tests in the past 33 days,” said the minister. “We will pass the 5 lakh mark before June ends.”

On quarantine, he said: “Over 4.46 lakh people have successfully completed quarantine, including around the 1.95 lakh Shramik Special (trains for migrant labourers) returnees. Barely 2 lakh people remain in quarantine now. This lot will have finished quarantine by next weekend.”

He said that they had, “with considerably less Covid-19 damage than estimated in early May, all but completed the process of returns”.