West Bengal: Recoveries breach 1 lakh mark, ACP among 55 Covid fatalities

The continuous rise in recoveries, however, has been tempered by the massive additions to the caseload. For eight straight days, the state has reported over 3,000 cases, with a record 3,245 reported on Friday.

There were also 55 fatalities. Among them was Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central Division) Uday Shankar Banerjee (56), the ninth city police official to succumb to the virus.

“Extremely saddened to share the news of untimely demise of an outstanding officer ACP (Central Div) Uday Shankar Banerjee, who was under treatment in hospital due to Covid-19. #TeamKP stands by the family of the deceased officer #Sad #CoronaMartyr #RIP,” tweeted Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma

Apart from the epicentre, which reported almost 60 percent of the new cases and 43 of the deaths, the situation continued to remain grave in both Purba Medinipur district and Dakshin Dinajpur.

In Purba Medinipur, the active caseload fell marginally to 1,496 despite the release of 201 patients. The district also reported three fatalities. In Dakshin Dinajpur district in North Bengal, active cases increased to 1,092.

The situation, meanwhile, seems to have stabilised somewhat in Malda district, which still has 740 active cases. The district has added 402 cases this week, and has seen its recovery rate jump from 75.44 per cent at the end of last week to 82.14 per cent on Friday. Darjeeling, the other district of concern in the region, has added 561 cases this week. Its recovery rate, however, has increased only one percentage point.

Meanwhile, a record 36,229 tests were conducted in 24 hours, taking the cumulative figure to 14,87,844.