38 new Covid-19 cases in West Bengal, total count 541

The death toll due to the contagion remained 18 in the state, a bulletin released by the West Bengal Health Department said.

At least 38 new Covid-19 cases were reported in West Bengal, taking the total number of coronavirus patients in the state to 541, officials said on Saturday.

A medical worker in PPE seen at Ambulance Head Quarter Corporation of Kolkata, during lockdown – to curb the spread of coronavirus, at Central Avenue, in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, on Thursday, April 23, 2020. (Photo Samir Jana / Hindustan Times)

The death toll due to the contagion remained 18 in the state, a bulletin released by the West Bengal Health Department said.

Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha had on Friday said the panel set up to ascertain the exact number of Covid-19 fatalities in the state, after auditing 57 suspected deaths, certified that only 18 of them were caused “directly by the disease”.

The 39 other deaths were due to severe co-morbidity conditions, he had said.

With the 38 new cases, the total number of active coronavirus cases in the state stood at 423, the department said.

Since Friday evening, 947 samples were tested, it said, adding, a total of 9,880 samples have been examined in the state so far.

In the last 24 hours, two persons were discharged from hospitals after they recovered from Covid-19.

Till date, 105 coronavirus patients have been discharged from hospitals in the state, the bulletin said.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Neurosciences Kolkata (I- NK) on Saturday evening said two administrative officials tested positive for coronavirus and have been shifted to a government hospital for treatment.

They had come in contact with a Covid-19 patient, it said in a release.