Bengal on Wednesday reported 22,155 Covid-19 cases, including 7,060 from Calcutta.

Active cases rose by 14,015 to 1,16,251 as the state recorded 8,117 recoveries and 23 deaths on Wednesday. The tally of active patients is the highest since May 27 last year — 230 days ago — during the second wave.

In what could be construed as a silver lining, the positive confirmation was 30.86 per cent on Wednesday, compared to 32.35 per cent on Tuesday and 37.32 per cent on Monday. The fall in the positive confirmation rate — the percentage of samples testing positive for the novel coronavirus — for two consecutive days is for the first time after weeks of relentless rise in the number of infections.

That it happened despite a steady rise in the number of tests conducted in the state over these two days is deemed a plus.

Still, a positive confirmation rate of 30.86 means that one out of every three tests in the state returns positive. A positive confirmation rate up to 5 per cent is considered tolerable in a pandemic.

“Calcutta’s positive confirmation rate has been over 40 for a while. Nine-ten other districts (such as Howrah, North 24-Parganas and Birbhum) are in the 30-plus bracket. Five-six others have a positive confirmation rate of over 20…. Only two north Bengal districts (Alipurduar and Cooch Behar) remain sub-10,” said a source in the state government.

At the peak of the devastating second wave last year, the rate had climbed to 33 per cent.

“We are already peaking in the third wave, and — it could be said with cautious optimism — these numbers will begin to improve in a matter of days,” he added.
The recovery rate slid further on Wednesday to 92.51 from 93.2 per cent on Tuesday, having dropped by nearly six per centage in these 15 days. The national rate is 96.01 now.

Even on December 28 — the last day of relatively normal numbers before the latest spell of the surge — the statewide total was 752, including 382 from Calcutta. The total active caseload then was 7,457.

In the 15 days since, the state has logged 1.85 lakh new infections, including 72,189 from Calcutta.

The surge was initially confined to the city and its immediate neighbourhood. The trigger then was identified by sources in the government as the general disregard for Covid safety protocols among revellers in the run up to Christmas. However, it has become increasingly clear since that it was part of a much larger, nationwide wave and not an isolated regional spike.

Fifteen of the state’s 23 districts reported zero deaths on Wednesday. Calcutta reported seven fatalities and North 24-Parganas eight.
The state’s mortality rate is 1.1 now, while that of the nation is 1.3 per cent.

Bengal has recorded over 18.17 lakh Covid-19 cases since the first was logged in March 2020. The total does include more than 16.81 lakh recoveries and 19,959 deaths.