The upward trajectory of COVID-19 cases continued in West Bengal for the past two days even as the state imposed strict lockdown in containment zones from July 9. There has also been an increase in the death toll.
On July 10, the state saw as many as 1,198 cases and 26 deaths. The next day, West Bengal recorded the highest single-day hike of 1,344. There were also 26 deaths during the period. The state now has the fourth highest death toll in the country.
The total number of tests conducted in the last two days hovered between 10,000 and 11,000—the number of tests remained almost same for the past fortnight. Despite the strict enforcement of lockdown in containment zones, the number of tests haven't gone up. There was 6,500 tests per million people, which is among the lowest in the country, comparable to states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In the states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, despite the increased number number of cases, tests per million people have climbed up drastically.
“This is a totally lackluster effort. Lockdown would be meaningless without testing and segregation. We need massive level testing at the community level,” said virologist Amitava Nandy.
Kolkata had the highest number of infections—412—on July 11, followed by North 24 Parganas, which had 327 cases. Sixteen people died in the state capital on July 11.
In north Bengal, the major worry for the state comes from districts like Malda, Darjeeling, and particularly Siliguri. While medical facilities have improved slightly in Siliguri for the past week, in Malda the facilities are limited.
Meanwhile, for the past one week, the number of patients getting discharged every day is merely half of the number of new patients. Until last week, the number of people testing positive and those getting discharged remained almost equal. Banking on the recent ICMR guidelines, the hospitals are discharging patients, even before they test negative but are stable as they can be quarantined at home.
Hospitals are running short of beds as an increasing number of people with comorbidities are testing positive for the pandemic.
“Even non-COVID patients are not getting service at these critical hours. We need a massive increase in tests which could help us segregate patients in isolation centers. We need to release beds for patients with other critical illnesses immediately. We are not at all counting the deaths due to other reasons,” said Nandy.
