Single-day Covid infections drop to 16,225; about 153 dead in past 24 hours

KOLKATA: Single-day Covid infected cases dropped to 16,225 on Wednesday from what remained 17,005 on Tuesday. The total infected tally has reached 13,18,203. About 153 fatalities have been reported across Bengal in the past 24 hours taking the total casualties to 14,827 so far.

Two doctors and a BDS student died of Covid. Dr Abdullah Sohail Hossain (34), who was pursuing MD Medicine at IPGMER succumbed to his ailments at a private hospital following Covid. In another incident Dr Aravinda Roy, eye surgeon also died of Covid. He had received two doses of the vaccine.

The number of daily releases continues to outweigh the number of fresh infections for the three consecutive days. As many as 19,071 patients have been discharged in the past 24 hours. Around 11,79,999 patients have already been released from the hospitals so far. The Covid recovery rate on Wednesday stood at 89.52 per cent. The percentage of positive cases out of the sample tested stands at 10.87. The percentage of occupancy of Covid beds in the State dropped at 34.10 from 36.23 on Tuesday.

Besides Covid, Mucormycosis has become a serious concern for the Health department as the number of mucormycosis cases reached 13 on Wednesday. Director of Health Services (DHS), Dr Ajay Chakraborty on Wednesday said one new confirmed case has been reported from Pradhannagar in Darjeeling and cumulative figure reached 13. Number of suspected cases in the state has gone up to 11 out of which many were from other states. Two persons have so far died of mucormycosis in the state. No death has been reported on Wednesday among confirmed cases.

The Health department proposed to form a multidisciplinary team at the hospitals with a microbiologist/pathologist/radio diagnosis expert, internal medicine specialist, ENT specialist, neurologist, ophthalmologist, dental surgeon, maxillofacial surgeon and endocrinologist in the team.

Meanwhile, Kolkata has registered 30 Covid deaths on Tuesday while North 24-Parganas has seen 37 deaths in the past 24 hours. South 24-Parganas has reported 15 deaths on Wednesday, Howrah 11, Hooghly 4, West Burdwan 6, West Midnapore 2, Bankura 4, Purulia 2, Birbhum 4, Nadia 2, Nadia 7, Murshidabad 7, South Dinajpur 5, North Dinajpur 4, Jalpaiguri 9, Darjeeling 4, Coochbehar 1. Kolkata in the past 24 hours has registered 2,378 fresh cases and North 24-Parganas 3,427. The total death toll in Kolkata has so far reached 4,289 whereas North 24-Parganas has lost 3,716 people so far.

The state Health department on Wednesday conducted vaccinations on 59,593 people across the state. Bengal has so far carried out 1,35,52,921 lakh vaccination marks till Wednesday. On Tuesday, around 1,47,530 people were vaccinated in the state. No adverse effects following immunization (AEFI) were reported on Tuesday. According to the health department figure, around 3,94,670 people have been vaccinated in the age group 18-45 and also in priority groups.