4,127 new Covid cases and 60 deaths but recoveries inch up too

 While the total coronavirus cases for the state, since the first was detected on March 17, is 3.49 lakh now, over 3.06 lakh of those are recoveries, besides 6,487 deaths

Meghdeep Bhattacharyya   |   TT   |   Calcutta   |   26.10.20  :  Bengal on Mahanavami Sunday logged over 4,000 new Covid-19 cases for the sixth consecutive day, with 4,127, and 60 deaths, including 14 in Calcutta and 18 in North 24-Parganas.

On the brighter side, Sunday also marked the third consecutive day of a break from new highs in the spike, and saw 3,857 recoveries, the highest single-day number yet.

While the total Covid-19 cases for the state, since the first was detected on March 17, is 3.49 lakh now, over 3.06 lakh of those are recoveries, besides 6,487 deaths.

“Given the trends in the first couple of weeks of October, we were apprehensive of a major spike in the number of cases found daily by now. Had the damage we were fearing taken place, we would have seen much worse numbers now,” said a minister.

“Instead, we have been seeing a sharp rise in recoveries. Another seven-10 days of this, and we will overcome much of the progress that we lost earlier this month,” he added.

The rise in recoveries over the past few days contributed to a rise in the recovery rate, which had taken a tumble since the October 6 high of 87.98. Having fallen to 87.43 per cent on Tuesday, it rose gradually to 87.56 on Sunday.

The national rate, far behind the state for months, is now 89.98 per cent.

Over the past month, Bengal reported nearly 1.09 lakh new cases on one hand, and over 95,000 recoveries on the other. In that period, there have also been 1,822 deaths.

Now, Bengal ranks fourth in the country after Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka among the states with the most active cases, currently at 37,017. It alone has over 5.5 per cent of India’s total active cases.

Of the total 6,487 deaths reported so far, the state government attributed 5,463, or 84.2 per cent, to comorbidities. Bengal’s overall mortality rate is 1.85, behind the national rate of 1.5 per cent.

With 42,538 tests, the total of tests is over 42.98 lakh, at 47,759 tests per million people.

The positive confirmation rate, on the rise again since the sharp spike in new cases, is 8.14 per cent now.

The state reported 36.3 per cent occupancy in the 12,751 beds earmarked for Covid-19 in 93 dedicated hospitals for the pandemic, besides 3.74 lakh telemedicine consultations so far this pandemic.