Bengal on Saturday reported 19,064 new Covid-19 infections, including 4,831 from Calcutta, and 39 deaths.
Although the numbers of cases are slightly less than those on Friday (a statewide total of 22,645 and 6,867 in Calcutta), Bengal conducted nearly 8,000 less tests — a cumulative 64,572 — on Saturday.
Till 9am on Saturday, the state also logged 9,132 recoveries, taking the number of active cases to 1,55,376.
The positive confirmation rate improved slightly to 29.52 per cent, from the 31.14 per cent of Friday. But it still means one out of every three persons are testing positive.
“According to our estimates, we are passing through the peak of the third wave. The numbers ought to start reducing steadily soon. After about two weeks, the stats will look a lot better. By the middle of February, things should be normal again,” said a source in the state government.
On December 28 — the last day of relatively normal numbers before the latest spell of surge in Bengal — the statewide total was 752, including 382 from Calcutta, and the total active caseload was 7,457. In the 18 days since, the state has logged nearly 2.51 lakh new infections, including 90,655 from Calcutta. The recovery rate slid further on Saturday to 90.68 per cent.
