41 more COVID-19 patients die in Bengal; 2,294 fresh cases detected

The COVID-19 death toll in West Bengal rose to 1,490 on Wednesday after 41 people succumbed to the disease, the state health department said in a bulletin.

A total of 2,294 fresh cases of coronavirus infection pushed the state's tally to 65,258, the bulletin said.

Since Tuesday, 2,094 patients have been cured of the disease, the highest in a single day so far. So far, 44,116 people in West Bengal have recovered from COVID-19.

The number of active cases is 19,652 now.

A total of 17,144 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours, it added.

The city accounted for 17 fresh fatalities, while nine patients died in North 24 Parganas, five in South 24 Parganas, and four in Howrah district.

One death each was reported from Paschim Bardhaman, Purba Medinipur, Malda, Jalpaiguri, Dakshin Dinajpur and Darjeeling.

Of the 41 deaths, 36 were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental.

When contacted, a senior official of the state health department said that the number of deaths daily in West Bengal has gone up since mid-July.

"Till mid-July, we witnessed an average of 23 deaths daily which went up beyond 30 after July 19 and remained so. Now, there are days when we notice even 40 deaths," the official told PTI.

The bulletin said that 688 people tested positive for the disease in the city followed by 554 in North 24 Parganas, 258 in Howrah and 108 from South 24 Parganas districts. The remaining 686 cases were reported from 17 other districts.

Around 25 people, including nurses, health workers, Group-D staff and security personnel, at the city's Beliaghata ID Hospital tested positive for the novel coronavirus, sources said.

"We have advised home isolation for a couple of them while others were admitted to the hospital, a source said.

A total of 17,144 samples have been tested in the last 24 hours, it added.

The number of broad-based containment zones in West Bengal went up to 1,237 with Nadia having the maximum of 193 such zones, the state government said.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader Fuad Halim, who is also a doctor, has been hospitalised after he complained of breathing problems, sources said.

Halim, who had been treating COVID-19 patients, was admitted to the ICU of a private facility in Kolkata a couple of days back and he tested negative twice for the coronavirus infection, sources said.

A third test was conducted on the leader and its report is yet to arrive.