Bengal sees highest number of COVID deaths, cases in a day

Migrant workers from West Bengal working in gold jewellery making units in Mumbai wait at an assembly point in South Mumbai hoping to get a Shramik Special train.

West Bengal recorded its highest rise in COVID deaths in a single day, with 17 people dying within 24 hours on June 6. The same day the State also recorded its highest spike in cases with 435 people testing positive. This was the second consecutive day that the State recorded its highest rise in COVID-19 cases in 24 hours. On June 5, the number of confirmed cases stood at 427.

As of June 6, the total number of COVID-positive people in the State who have died stands at 400, including 72 deaths due to comorbidities (as reported on April 30). The total number of cases in the State stands at 7,738, including 4,447 active ones. Of the 17 deaths today, nine were from Kolkata, four from North 24 Parganas, and one each from Nadia, Purbo Medinipur, Howrah and South 24 Parganas. Of the 435 fresh cases, 94 are from Kolkata, 82 from Hooghly, 60 from North 24 Parganas, and 60 from Howrah.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attributed the spike in cases to the alleged “unplanned” manner in which the Centre has been arranging for the return of lakhs of migrant workers stranded in different parts of the country. She even dubbed the Shramik Special trains that are bringing migrants back to Bengal as ‘Corona Expresses’.

The discharge rate in the State stands at 40.35 per cent, with a total 3,326 people having been discharged from hospitals, as of June 6. After a slow start the State has stepped up its rate of sample-testing per day. A total of 2,61,288 samples have been tested (as of June 6), with well over 9,000 samples being tested per day for the last 10 days. The rate of testing per million population stands at 2,903.