the COVID-19 related deaths in West Bengal, said state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha. The state has recorded 1,846 COVID-19 fatalities till the date.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the state’s top bureaucrat, in a press conference on August 6, said they are analysing every COVID-19 related death on a daily basis and nearly 70 percent of the fatalities took place because people delayed in reaching the hospital.
Amid the surging novel coronavirus infection, state-run and private hospitals have been alleged that they have refused to admit patients due to several reasons like shortage of beds, which resulted in the death of some patients, said the report.
Quashing the allegation, Sinha said there is no shortage of hospital beds. Over 500 beds have been added to the state-run and private COVID-19 hospitals since July 31 taking the total number of beds in hospitals for patients of the pandemic to 11,560, said the chief secretary. Of these, 60 percent are still vacant, he reportedly said.
Sinha said there are over 10,000 beds at safe homes for COVID-19 patients, which is a unique initiative by the state for mild or asymptomatic patients.
The COVID-19 fatality rate has dropped to around 2.2 percent in West Bengal, which means only two out of 100 COVID-19 patients have died, Sinha said. Of these, 87.6 percent is due to co-morbidity.
He further said the government has conducted about 25,000 tests in the city, including 80 percent RT-PCR and 20 percent rapid antigen tests.
West Bengal reported 61 fresh COVID-19 related deaths, which took the death toll 1,846 in the state, according to Union Health Ministry’s data, released on August 7.
(With inputs from PTI)
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