West Bengal on Wednesday recorded 61 more COVID-19 deaths, its highest single-day spike yet, taking its toll to 1,846. The State also reported 2,816 new cases, pushing its total case tally to 83,800, of which 22,992 are active cases.
Of the latest deaths, 25 were reported from Kolkata, 13 from North 24 Parganas and nine from Howrah districts. On Tuesday, 54 people had succumbed to the virus in the State.
A total of 24,047 samples were tested across the State in the past 24 hours, and its recovery rate stands at 70.36%.
Councillor succumbs
Subhas Bose, a Trinamool Congress councillor from the Biddhannagar Municipal Corporation, died of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described him as “one of the many brave souls who risked his life while working on the frontline”.
A number of CPI(M) leaders, including Polit Bureau member Mohammad Salim, party leader Fuad Halim, and State Secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Union Anadi Sahu, have been hospitalised after testing positive for the virus.
Lockdown violations
The State observed a complete lockdown on Wednesday and the Kolkata Police penalised 561 people for flouting rules. As many as 271 people were booked for not wearing face masks, 20 vehicles were seized and 19 people were booked for spitting on roads and public places. There were also some sporadic clashes between the police and saffron activists for defying the total lockdown and holding celebrations for the ground breaking ceremony of the Ayodhya Ram Temple.
Normal life was completely crippled in the State due to the lockdown, the fourth in a fornight.
