Fresh COVID cases disrupts New Year festivities in Kolkata
The Hindu
Capital accounts for almost half of 2,128 cases recorded in West Bengal
West Bengal and its capital Kolkata are witnessing an almost-overnight explosion in the number of COVID-19 cases, with the cheer that had gripped the city only about 10 days ago now giving way to caution. The State government is expected to soon release a fresh set of guidelines aimed at combating the surge.
On Friday, figures released by the Health Department showed the State recording 2,128 cases COVID-19 cases on a single day, with Kolkata alone accounting for 1,090 of them. Barely 10 days ago, it was a different picture, when the City of Joy seemed set to return to the pre-pandemic days. On December 21, for example, the whole of West Bengal had reported 440 new cases, with Kolkata accounting for 177 of them. By December 28, these figures had climbed to 752 and 382 respectively, and now the count is once again in four figures.
“The situation is getting bad. Cases are skyrocketing. Phone calls are already coming from friends and relatives who had been through COVID-19 before and who are getting infected again. Hospital beds are once again in demand. The need of the hour was to restrict mass congregations and cancel celebrations, [but that not happening] is going to hamper whatever little chances we had to containing the spread of the infection,” well-known ENT specialist Dr. Arjun Dasgupta told The Hindu.