33 new COVID-19 cases in West Bengal, total rises to 696

Thirty-three people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24-hours in West Bengal, taking the total number of coronavirus cases in the state to 696, a top official said on Wednesday.

Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said 33 people have tested positive and the total number of active COVID-19 cases in the state was 550.

No death due to the contagion has been reported and the toll remained at 22, he said, adding that five persons have been discharged in the last 24-hours as they have recovered from COVID-19.

Around 88 per cent of the total number of COVID-19 patients in West Bengal are from the metropolis and two of its adjoining districts of Howrah and North 24 Parganas, the chief secretary said.

He said of the total COVID-19 patients, 64 per cent were male and the rest 36 per cent were female.

"After analysing, we have found that of the total coronavirus positive cases reported in West Bengal, 88 per cent cases have been reported from Kolkata, Howrah and North 24 Parganas. The rest 12 per cent of the cases have been reported from other parts of the state," Sinha said.

In more than 50 per cent of the cases, the people belong to the age group of 45-years and above, he said.

West Bengal has 87 COVID-19 beds per million whereas the national average is 85, Sinha claimed, adding that "we are better than the national average".

West Bengal has a total of 8,000 beds at 66 hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients.

"Of this, 10 per cent is earmarked for the ICU. But only four per cent of the patients treated so far, required ventilation support. Ninety-six per cent of the patients did not require any advance intervention of treatment," he said.

Around 87 per cent of the beds at hospitals treating coronavirus patients are vacant, he said urging people to avail the services at the government-run hospitals if the need arises.

"We have enough beds in our hospitals and in case you need any help or support from the government then please avail the services and infrastructure the government has created," he added.

In the last 24 hours, the chief secretary said 1,397 samples were tested while a total of 14,620 samples have been examined so far for the contagion.

"This is the maximum number of samples tested so far in West Bengal and we hope to improve this. We have a total capacity of 1,405 sample testing per day in our laboratories," he said, adding that 86 per cent of the total tests were conducted in state-run facilities while the rest in private hospitals.

The state so far has reported a total of 696 COVID-19 cases, while the Union Health Ministry has put the figure at at 725.

The state government has constituted an audit committee of doctors which ascertains whether a patient of COVID-19 has died because of the disease or of a pre-existing ailment.