KOLKATA: High Covid infection rate in various north Bengal districts has become a cause of concern for the Health department. The district officials have been asked to strengthen surveillance to check the spread of the infection.
The number of daily Covid cases is higher in Cooch Behar, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling. Unlike the first wave, during the ongoing second wave, the number of infected cases is much higher in the North.
On Wednesday, as many 74 cases were reported in Darjeeling, 38 in Cooch Behar and 36 in Jalpaiguri. Two people died in Darjeeling on Wednesday. The total active cases stood at 1,335 on Wednesday.
In the case of Cooch Behar, the active cases remained at 776 and 764 in Jalpaiguri. In Kolkata, the active cases on Wednesday stood at 986 and around 81 new cases were reported. During the first phase of Covid, the number of infected cases in North Bengal districts had been much lower than that of the south Bengal districts. But, the infection rate in Kolkata and North 24-Parganas had been much higher compared to the districts in north Bengal.
After the restrictions were partially withdrawn by the state government, the number of tourist influx has gone up. It is not, however, clear that infection has gone up due to the influx of tourists or not.