Kolkata, April 18 (SocialNews.XYZ) The coronavirus death count in West Bengal rose to 12 on Saturday with the audit committee confirming two more loss of lives, according to a top official, here.
Twenty-three new cases reported since Friday increased the active Covid-19 cases to 178, said Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha. "On Thursday, the number of active cases was 162. After that, 23 new cases have been reported, while seven patients recovered and got discharged from hospitals."
According to the central government, the cumulative number of Covid-19 cases in the state is 287, of whom 55 have recovered and got discharged from hospitals.
According to Sinha, 4,630 samples have been tested. "We have crossed the level of 400 sample testing a day. A new lab at the Malda Medical College and Hospital will become functional on Sunday with 50 tests a day capacity," he said and added, the state was heading towards optimal level of testing.
In Bengal, 3,858 people are in the government quarantine, and 35,209 in home quarantine.
He said 580 Covid-19 suspects were tested in Howrah, designated as a red zone. Of this, 62 tested positive. "Ten per cent of the patients have tested positive. After the initial outbreak in Egra of the East Midnapore district, we had tested 300 people, of whom 18 tested positive," he said.
The situation in East Midnapore has since improved, and the district is now in orange zone, denoting an area with a limited number of cases and with no surge in cases.
The last positive case from East Midnapore was reported on April 11, he added.
Workers associated with testing should work in double shifts to increase the |number of tests, he said.
"We are maintaining regular contact with all districts. With a lab in Durgapur or Burdwan (in the western part of the state), the time for getting test results will decline and the number of tests increase," he said.
Of the 1,500 ventilators, 10 have been used for Covid-19 patients. There are 7,969 beds in 66 Covid-19 hospital. "The bed occupancy is only 178," he said.
The Chief Secretary held a video conference with principals and superintendents of medical colleges, the Chief Medical Officer (Health) of districts and the senior health department officials.
Source: IANS
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