Quite a few of them changed their mobile numbers after the initial dose and could not be traced, the official said.
Tag: West Bengal Coronavirus
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West Bengal logs 686 new coronavirus cases, 11 deaths
By PTI
KOLKATA: West Bengal’s COVID-19 toll rose to 18,483 on Friday after 11 more persons succumbed to the disease, while 686 new cases pushed the tally to tally 15,50,664, a bulletin issued by the state health department said.
North 24 Parganas accounted for four deaths, Kolkata for three and Hooghly district for two.
One fatality was recorded in Nadia.
Of the 686 new cases, 110 were reported from the state capital and 109 from North 24 Parganas, the bulletin said.
At least 715 more recoveries were registered in West Bengal, which took the total number of people cured of the infection to 15,23,487.
The discharge rate stands at 98.
25 per cent.
The state currently has 8,694 active cases.
As many as 1,71,22,925 samples have been tested in Bengal thus far, including 43,504 since Thursday, the bulletin added.
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West Bengal JEE held in offline mode amid coronavirus scare
By PTI
KOLKATA: A total of 92,695 candidates sat for the West Bengal Joint Entrance Examination (WBJEE) at 274 centres on Saturday, as the first offline public examination held in the state this year amid the pandemic situation went off smoothly.An official of the West Bengal JEE Board said that the candidates wrote Mathematics and Physics-Chemistry papers in two halves, with strict adherence to COVID-19 protocols such as wearing masks and maintaining a five-feet distance between them.
“Two candidates were seated on long benches with a five-feet distance between them, and one on the shorter ones. The number of examinees in each room did not exceed 28,” he said.
The Mathematics paper in the first half and the Physics-Chemistry paper in the second were of two hours each and the exams passed off smoothly, the official said.
WBJEE is conducted to shortlist candidates aspiring to study in engineering colleges in the state.
Examinees were allowed to board staff-special trains if they carried admit cards with them.
However, many of them claimed that the number of public transport vehicles at Sealdah, Howrah and Kolkata terminal railway stations were fewer, and they had to shell out a huge amount of money to reach the examination venues on time.
A social organisation pressed into service a few buses, hired from private operators, to ferry candidates for free in Kolkata and Howrah.
The COVID positivity rate in West Bengal has declined to 1.54 per cent, as 14,191 patients of the 15.13-lakh tally are undergoing treatment, while 17,944 people have succumbed to the infection, and 14.81 lakh have recovered from the disease thus far.
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West Bengal govt sets up expert committee to decide on class X, XII exams
By Express News Service
KOLKATA: The West Bengal government formed an expert committee to review covid pandemic situation and recommend whether to or not to conduct Class X and XII exams of the state education board. The government also sought an opinion from the common people, parents or guardians and students through email by 2 pm on Monday.Earlier, the state education department had announced that Class XII board exam would be held at the end of July and the Class X exam will be in the first week of August. It was said the exams would be conducted on compulsory subjects only and students would be allowed to appear in the exams in the same school where they are studying.
The expert committee will also recommend the government if the exams will be conducted, what will be the mode of conduction and if not, what will be the mode of evaluation criteria for the assessment.
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Rates of COVID deaths, positivity in Bengal now much less than first wave: CM Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal on Saturday registered 11,514 fresh COVID-19 cases taking the tally to 13,54,956, the bulletin said.
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Mamata Banerjee writes to PM Modi, seeks 20 lakh vaccine doses for state, central govt employees
By PTI
KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to provide at least 20 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine for inoculation of all state and central government employees.Banerjee, in her letter, also said that the Centre’s policies have “no room to accommodate the needs” of people who run greater risk of contracting the viral disease, including bankers, railway and airport employees, and those working in defence or coal sectors.
“In Bengal, we have taken steps to vaccinate a large section of frontline and electorally engaged employees across several sectors. We still need minimum 20 lakh doses to cover all employees,” the chief minister wrote.
She requested Modi to make available adequate number of vaccines for personnel engaged in “priority sectors” without further delay.
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Rural Bengal bears burden of Covid surge
By Express News Service
KOLKATA: The second wave of Covid-19 has hit the rural pockets of Bengal hard, resulting in five to eight times surge in new positive cases compared to last year’s infection rate even at its peak. The biggest contributor to the spike was the electoral extravaganza by political parties, mainly the BJP and TMC, health experts say.While admitting that this year’s surge was bigger than last year’s, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently called for sustained efforts to ensure that the infection did not hit the villages. However, at the peak of election campaigning, Modi had addressed 20 major rallies in less than a month in rural Bengal, which now is reeling under an unprecedented surge.
According to the records available with the state health department, on October 1, 2020, Birbhum recorded 94 cases in 24 hours; the relative figure as on April 26 is 704. Similarly, Hooghly’s 24-hour count on October 1 last year was 145, which shot up to 818 in 24 hours on April 26.
Blaming massive political gatherings of jostling and mask-less people, health experts said: ‘’In the first wave, the infection scenario in rural Bengal was not as grim. In all the rallies and roadshows, Covid-19 safety protocols were grossly flouted. Instead of discouraging people from assembling, all political leaders welcomed the crowds. Political parties’ effort to woo the rural electorate is behind the surge.’’
During the political rallies, aside from the local populace, large hordes of supporters were brought from outside by the parties in a show of strength, contributing to the spread. After the graph started spiraling north, CPM had decided to abstain from organising public rallies. On April 22, the Election Commission banned roadshows and public rallies with more than 500 people but by then, the damage was done.
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West Bengal has highest coronavirus case spike rate in India
By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: At 9.5%, poll-bound West Bengal has the highest Covid-19 case growth in the country now, data shared by the Union health ministry showed. It was followed by Karnataka, which has a near explosive growth rate of 9%, while Delhi, reeling under a huge medical oxygen crisis, has the second-lowest growth rate at 1.5% after Maharashtra (0.5 %), among the surge states. And at about 50%, Bengal’s capital Kolkata now has the highest test positivity rate.The stark West Bengal data showed a mirror to the Election Commission of India that till recently chose to ignore all violations of Covid-appropriate behaviour in the run up to the eight-phase elections in the state. Despite massive mask-less political rallies that created an uproar, the poll panel tried to wish them away till last week when it got a stinker from the Calcutta High Court and was forced to act.
Another worrying figure was the 1,800% spike in active cases in Uttarakhand between March 31 and April 24, which coincided with the Haridwar Maha Kumbh, indicating the mela was a possible super spreader event in the state. Prior to the Maha Kumbh, the total active cases stood at 1,863 (March 31), but they quickly ballooned to 33,330 by April 24.
India, now the worst-hit in the pandemic globally, has been reporting nearly 1,500 or more daily deaths since April 20. On Sunday, the highest 2,812 fatalities were recorded. There are also concerns that the fatality count is being majorly undercounted in most cities and towns.
In a health ministry press briefing on Monday, several government authorities, including V K Paul, member, Niti Aayog and Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS Delhi urged patients to follow home isolation protocols unless hospitalisation is absolutely required.
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Centre asks four states to take prompt steps to curb recent spike in COVID-19 cases
By PTI
NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked four states recording a surge in COVID-19 cases — Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal — to maintain a “strict vigil” and take steps to curb the recent spike.Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan has written to these states to draw their attention “to the low and declining testing rates in the states, stating that any laxity at this crucial junction may squander the results of our collective actions in containing the transmission”, according to a health ministry statement.
The states have been advised to maintain a “strict vigil” and to take steps to keep a check on the rising cases, especially in view of the new strain of the virus being observed in a few states in India.
They have been advised to analyse the surge at the district and sub-district levels to understand the reasons for this rise and plan adequate measures proactively to curb the same.
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Aggressive implementation of the “test-track-treat” strategy adopted by the country has been strongly advised now more than ever by the health secretary.
The health authorities in the states have also been advised to proactively promote wearing of masks and other COVID-19-appropriate behaviours, while the vaccination drive is about to begin.
“It is important to ensure that there is no complacency in the collective efforts in containment and management of COVID-19,” the health secretary said.
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The states have been assured of all necessary support of the health ministry required to manage the pandemic.
“The four states comprise 59 per cent of the total active cases in the country,” the ministry said.
The total COVID-19 cases in Kerala are 7,90,882 which form 7.61 per cent of the total cases.
The active cases stand at 65,252, accounting for 28.61 per cent of the total national figure.
Total number of recovered cases is 7,22,421, accounting for a recovery rate of 91.34, while the total deaths in the state are 3,209 with a case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.41 per cent, the statement said.
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“The daily average cases in Kerala in the last 7 days are 5,023 whereas daily average deaths in the last 7 days are 23. The tests per million (TPM) of Kerala stand at 1,96,432 and positivity rate is 11.28 per cent,” the statement stated.
The health secretary has expressed concern over the dip in the overall tests in the past two weeks in the state combined with an increase in the positivity rate.
The weekly positivity rate has been consistently above 11 per cent for the past two weeks, while the case positivity rate for the country is less than 2.5 per cent for the same period, the statement stated.
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In view of the above, a high-level central team led by Dr S K Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has been rushed by the central government to Kerala.
The team will review the public health interventions in management of COVID-19 by the state government and support the state health authorities in these measures, the ministry said.
Total cases in Maharashtra stand at 19,54,553, accounting for 18.80 per cent of the national figure.
A total of 18,52,759 patients have recovered in the state, resulting in a recovery rate of 94.79 per cent.
The active cases in the state are 51,969 (amounting for 22.79 per cent of national figure).
The state has reported a total of 49,825 fatalities, with a CFR of 2.55 per cent.
The daily average cases in Maharashtra in the last 7 days are 3,707 and daily average deaths in the last 7 days are 51, the statement said.
The TPM is 1,02,870 while the state positivity rate is pegged at 15.43 per cent, it said.
Chhattisgarh has registered 2,85,586 cases (with percentage share in total being 2.75 per cent) and 2,73,030 total number of recoveries with a recovery rate of 95.60 per cent.
The active cases as on date are 9,109 (3.99 per cent share in the national pie).
The numbers of fatalities in the state is 3,447 and the case fatality rate is 1.21 per cent.
Daily average cases in Chhattisgarh in the last 7 days are 1,006 whereas daily average deaths in the last 7 days are 13, the statement said.
TPM is 1,16,744 with a positivity rate of 8.31 per cent.
West Bengal is reporting 5,57,252 cases (5.36 per cent of the total cases in the country).
A total 5,38,521 persons have recovered taking the recovery rate to 96.64 per cent.
It has 8,868 active cases, accounting for 3.89 per cent of the national figure.
There have been 9,863 total deaths in the state with a case fatality rate of 1.77 per cent.
The daily average cases in West Bengal in the last 7 days are 908 and daily average deaths are 25.
The number of TPM is 71,762 and the positivity rate is 7.80 per cent, the ministry said.