For the fifth consecutive day after Durga Puja, Bengal on Saturday logged a drop in total active Covid-19 cases, reporting 3,993 new infections and 4,049 recoveries in 24 hours, giving the last day of October a silver lining.
Overall, in October, the state logged over 1.16 lakh cases and 1.04 lakh recoveries. Between October 1 and 22, there were over 80,000 new cases and 69,000-odd recoveries. Between October 23 and Saturday, however, the gap narrowed with 36,000-odd cases and 35,000-odd recoveries.
Fifty-seven Covid-19 deaths were also reported on Saturday, including 16 each from Calcutta and North 24-Parganas. The total of novel coronavirus cases in Bengal went past 3.73 lakh. But it includes nearly 3.3 lakh recoveries and 6,841 deaths.
Saturday also reset the record for daily recoveries for the 12th consecutive day. The recovery rate rose to 88.3 on Saturday. The national rate is 91.45 per cent.
“In these five days after Puja, there have been 19,851 recoveries, over 19,842 new cases. The total of active cases has dropped from 37,190 to 36,886,” said a minister. “Most importantly, prior to this, we were still largely detecting infections from the pre-Durga Puja days. Now, we are in the main festival days. For someone who got infected on Mahasashthi, Saturday was Day 10 for them,” he added, explaining that the impact of Puja days would be palpable in the Covid-19 numbers over the next few days, starting now. It is between days six and 10 of the infection that most cases get detected.
If the trend continues, it would mean the Calcutta High Court’s curbs to prevent crowded pandals were effective.
Of the total 6,841 deaths reported, the state government attributed 5,751, or 84.1 per cent, to comorbidities. Bengal’s overall mortality rate is 1.83 now, still behind the national rate of 1.49 per cent.