Kolkata Police officer among 62 fatalities; Covid test positivity rate down to 8 per cent

Among those who died in Kolkata was the 12th Kolkata Police official. Assistant Sub Inspector Tushar Kanti Koley of Haridevpur Police Station had been diagnosed with the disease two weeks ago. He breathed his last on Thursday morning.

“We deeply mourn the untimely demise of Assistant Sub Inspector Tushar Kanti Koley, who was posted in Haridevpur PS. He was affected with #COVID19 and was at the forefront of our #FightAgainstCorona,” tweeted Kolkata Police.

Describing Koley as a “corona martyr”, Kolkata Police Commissioner Anuj Sharma, who is in home isolation after testing positive, tweeted, “Sharing the sad news of the demise of ASI Tushar Kanti Koley who was admitted in hospital after being tested positive.”

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also condoled the death of the 55-year-old officer. Till date, almost 2,800 Kolkata Police personnel have tested positive for the disease, said sources.

Meanwhile, both Paschim Medinipur and Purba Medinipur, which are among the districts in South Bengal with a high active caseload, saw their number of patients go down. In Purba Medinipur, active cases, now 1,093, have fallen for three straight days while in Paschim Medinipur they have been declining last Saturday.

Up in the north, the active cases declined in Malda for the third straight day, settling at 555. In Coochbehar, it has inched upwards again, and is now at 698. The district has added 381 cases this week.

Meanwhile, the state’s discharge rate went up to 87.46 per cent following the recovery of 3,014 people in 24 hours. The figures in the state health bulletin are updated till 9 am. The health department said 43,432 samples were tested in 24 hours. The test positivity rate fell to 8.01 per cent.