Bengal on Tuesday logged highest number of deaths from Covid-19 during a 24-hour period at 54, cases at 2,752 and tests at 22,321 as the total count of patients stopped just short of 81,000, of whom nearly 57,000 had recovered.

The maximum deaths and tests reported previously had been 53 and 22,122, respectively, on Monday.

The earlier count of highest daily new cases had been 2,739 recorded on Sunday.

But a major positive aspect is that the mortality rate improved to 2.2 per cent from 3.42 in a month. Calcutta’s mortality rate fell from 5.88 to 3.4 per cent in the same period.

Of 1,785 deaths from the pathogen in the state till date, 1,559 (87.3 per cent) were reported as those with comorbidity by the state government. In one month, there were 1,028 deaths from Covid-19 and 968 of them were reported as comorbid.

“There are some new trends being seen in the mortality stats. For instance, the mortality of the infected in the highest age group of 75-plus improved in a month from 18.55 to 13.58 per cent. In the next age bracket (61-75), the mortality rate dropped from 11.52 to 6.84,” said a Bengal minister.

In the third age bracket of 46-60, also deemed vulnerable in Covid-19, the mortality rate improved from 4.19 to 2.43 per cent. In the 31-45 bracket, too, the mortality rate plummeted from 1 per cent to 0.52 in a month. “It is the 61-75 age bracket that saw the most deaths, in absolute numbers. Comorbidities in that age group are very common,” said the minister.

Of the 1,785 deaths, sources said, over 1,100 were reported from the 61-75 age group.

The mortality among infected males was brought down from 3.43 to 2.35. Among the infected females, it dropped from 3.41 to 1.91 per cent.

Hypertension continues to be the biggest contributor to the comorbid deaths – 21.27 per cent in males and 24.85 in females – followed by diabetes, cardiac diseases and chronic kidney disease.

The recovery rate is now 70.24 per cent, ahead of the national rate of 67.22.

The state’s total testing is over 9.78 lakh now, with 10,878 a million.

However, owing to the sharp spike in new cases, the positive confirmation rate is now 8.27 per cent. A month ago, it was 4.09.

The state reported 38.78 per cent occupancy on 11,560 beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients at 83 dedicated hospitals, besides 23.92 per cent on 6,908 beds at 106 safe homes.

Birbhum lockdown

Birbhum district authorities ordered total lockdown in two towns and six rural blocks on August 6 and 7 in a bid to curb rising infections.

District magistrate Moumita Godara Basu said Rampurhat and Nalhati municipalities, and six blocks, Rampurhat I, Muraroi I and II, Nalhati I and II and Mayureswar I, will be locked down.

“There is a spike in Covid cases. We announced the lockdown for two days after the state-wide lockdown on Wednesday in a bid to arrest the spike,” said Godara Basu.

On Monday, 49 persons tested positive in Birbhum. Sources said Birbhum had reported 662 cases in all till Monday, and a toll of six.

Around 60 per cent of the infected persons of the district are from Rampurhat subdivision. Birbhum’s other two subdivisions are Suri and Bolpur. In the past five days, over a 100 persons have reported positive from Rampurhat and four died of Covid in July-end.

“We have 87 persons in safe homes where the capacity is 110. Twelve patients are critically ill and in hospital. So, the health threat is real.

Recently, a block development officer also tested positive,” said an official in Rampurhat.

East Burdwan authorities are mulling a seven-day lockdown in Burdwan town and other four municipalities. “The district magistrate sent a proposal to the state on the lockdown, let’s see,” said an official in East Burdwan, a district with a Covid tally of 1,116 and four deaths. On Monday, 71 persons tested positive in East Burdwan.