West Bengal reported a drop in Covid cases, as new infections fell to 17,005 on a 24-hour-basis, while the test positivity rate improved to around 26 per cent.

On Tuesday, the drop in number came in the backdrop of discharges outnumbering new infections for the third consecutive day; and an overall decline in infections across districts, including the worst-hit ones of North 24 Parganas, Kolkata, and Hooghly. The daily testing stood at 66,123 (slightly lower than Monday’s 66,288).

According to a health bulletin issued by the state government, 157 persons succumbed to the virus. Numbers continue to be on the higher side in North 24 Parganas, where 46 deaths were reported; followed by the state capital with 33 deaths.

It has been over a week since the state government imposed lockdown-like strict restrictions given daily cases hovering around the 21,000-mark and the test positivity rate shooting up to 33 per cent.

Active cases decline

Active cases saw a substantial decline, by over 2,200 on a 24-hour basis, and over 19,000 people were discharged during this period. In 16 of the 23 districts, including the two worst-hit ones, active cases saw a decline.

In the northern parts of West Bengal, the district of Jalpaiguri saw the highest addition of active cases.

Fresh Covid cases continue to witness a decline in both Kolkata and North 24 Parganas. Kolkata reported 2979 new cases, while the neighbouring district reported 3,452 cases. In Hooghly, fresh cases nearly halved - just 661 fresh infections were reported on Tuesday, while in Howrah and South 24 Paraganas, new infections were at 1,164 and 1,202 respectively. Nadia also saw a slight dip to 888, as against the daily average of 1,000.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW