Three more COVID-19 deaths in West Bengal, toll 15: CS

Three more persons died of COVID-19 in West Bengal, taking the death toll due to the disease in the state to 15, Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said on Tuesday.

In the last 24 hours, 29 new COVID-19 cases were reported, taking the number of active cases in the state to 274, he said.

"These 29 cases were reported from Kolkata, Howrah, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Hooghly and Paschim Burdwan districts," Sinha said.

No COVID-19 patient was discharged from any of the hospitals in West Bengal in the last 24 hours, he said, adding that 713 samples were tested in the state during the period.

The number of people who have contracted the deadly virus in West Bengal is 359, according to state authorities, while the figure mentioned on the Union health and family welfare ministry's website is 392.

The total number of samples tested in the state till Tuesday is 6,182, Sinha said.

Two new laboratories at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital and Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute started testing samples for COVID-19, he added.

The chief secretary said the results of all the 74 COVID-19 tests conducted at the Malda Medical College and Hospital were negative.

He said rapid tests were started in the state in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

"The total number of rapid tests conducted in Kolkata and Howrah on Tuesday was 220. The results have been sent to the Swastha Bhawan (health department) and they are taking the requisite measures. I expect the number (of rapid tests) to go up from Wednesday as teams have reached the low-prevalence areas in the western and northern parts of the state," Sinha said.

A junior doctor at the orthopaedic unit and four nurses working at the gynaecological and cardiology departments of the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) tested positive for COVID-19, following which they were sent to the Beliaghata ID hospital.

Earlier, seven doctors of KMCH had tested positive for the infection. They are undergoing treatment at the Beliaghata ID hospital.

Meanwhile, one COVID-19 patient gave birth to a healthy boy at a Howrah hospital on Tuesday, an official of the state health department said.