BackWest Bengal minister Aroop Biswas tests positive for Covid-19
West Bengal is witnessing a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases from the beginning of this week
PremiumWest Bengal minister Aroop Biswas has been admitted to Kolkata's Woodlands Hospital after testing positive for Covid-19.
"He has mild symptoms and he is being administered antibodies. His oxygen levels are being monitored, and it is yet to be decided whether to send his samples for genome sequencing," an official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Doctors of the hospital are keeping Biswas under strict surveillance, he added.
This comes as West Bengal, which is witnessing a sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases from the beginning of this week, recorded 3,451 infections on Friday with Kolkata alone accounting for 1,954 or 56% of these.
While the state's fresh infections shot up by 62%, the eastern metropolis's new Covid cases went up by 79% in 24 hours.
The positivity rate went up to 8.46% from 5.47% the previous day, while the number of daily tests went up from Thursday's 38,898 to 40,813 on Friday. With 1,510 people discharged on Friday, the recovery rate stood at 98.14%.
The bulletin said that seven persons died on Friday of the virus, while 12 people had perished from it the previous day. A total of 19,764 people have died of the disease so far.
The state had recorded 2,128 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, with the metropolis accounting for 1,090 of that.
Ministers infected in Maharashtra
Meanwhile, more than ten ministers and at least 20 MLAs in Maharashtra have tested positive for coronavirus so far.
“We cut short the Assembly session recently. So far, over 10 ministers and over 20 MLAs have tested positive for coronavirus," said state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
"Everybody wants to be part of the celebrations of New Year, birthdays and other occasions. Keep in mind that the new variant (Omicron) spreads fast and hence caution is needed. PM Narendra Modi has appealed and some states have announced a night curfew. In Maharashtra, cases are increasing in Mumbai and Pune," said the minister.
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