Howrah sees drop in no. of containment zones

Kolkata: Howrah has witnessed a considerable drop in the number of containment zones that had come down to 22 from 74 in one-and-a-half month's time.

Most importantly not a single area under the jurisdiction of Howrah Municipal Corporation is a containment zone at present. On November 4, there were 12 containment zones in the HMC area. According to the district authorities the 22 containment zones are at Sankrail, Domjur, Shyampur, Amta and Bagnan. Only one containment zone is under the jurisdiction of Uluberia Municipality that is at Excise Barrack. Out of the 22, four are in Howrah Sadar sub-division and 18 are in Uluberia sub-division.

Steps have also been taken to check the spread of the disease in these areas as well.

At present every day, 900 RT-PCR and 1600 rapid antigen tests take place in the district. The positivity rate as per the RT-PCR test is concerned is 2.5 percent and that is 1.2 percent in case of rapid antigen tests.

There are now 1,326 Covid beds in different hospitals in the district. The general bed and ICU bed occupancy rate is 40 percent and 75 percent respectively.

The present trend shows that at present around 140 to 150 people test positive per day on an average, said Dr Bhabani Das, Chief Medical Officer (Health) of Howrah.