A resident of Siliguri, who had reportedly recovered from Covid-19 earlier, has died after testing positive for the virus again. Family members said they were confused about the matter. The son of the deceased said the 66-yearold resident of Surjya Sen Colony under the NJP police station had been tested positive for Covid-19 on 28 July and admitted in the Desun Hospital at Kawakhali, while a test was conducted at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) on 25 July.

He had been released from hospital after testing negative on 2 August. His wife is undergoing treatment in Dr Chhang’s (Covid) Hospital at Matigara, while the son and his daughter-in-law had also tested positive, but later released from a ‘safe house.’

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“Back home, we found that father had been suffering from breathing problems on 4 August. So he had been admitted in the critical care unit of the NBMCH the next day. We were shocked to know that his test report confirmed Covid-19 positive again. He was shifted to the dedicated hospital at Kawakhali again, but he could not make it and died last night,” the son of the deceased said.

According to him, they failed to understand whether he had been re-infected or had there been any mistake in any of the reports. He wondered whether the coronavirus could strike the same person twice, especially in such a short span of time. Health department officials said a few cases of recurrence of the coronavirus had been reported in north Bengal.

A senior health official said it will be too early to make any comment on the matter. “We will study the case first,” he said. Controversy over tests Controversy cropped up after some members of a voluntary organisation were found collecting their own nasal swab samples for rapid antigen tests at Matigara today. A section of health officials said that without dedicated health technicians, one should not collect the samples by themselves. Secretary of the Matigara Social Welfare Organisation Malay Bagchi said health workers of the local health centre had guided the members in collecting their swab samples.

“One of our executive body members has been tested positive through rapid antigen test. Accordingly, we had requested the Matigara block medical officer of health to hold similar tests for other members since we are involved in many social activities. The technicians demonstrated that members can collect their nasal swabs by themselves. Thirty eight members have undergone such tests today,” Mr Bagchi said.

Darjeeling district chief medical officer of health Dr Pralay Acharya, however, said no one could collect their own swab samples. Six die in Siliguri Six persons, who had tested positive for Covid-19 died in Siliguri in the past 24 hours. A 66-year-old resident of Surjya Sen Colony in Siliguri died at Desun Hospital last night, while a 52-yearold person from Malbazaar in Jalpaiguri also died there. A resident of Ward 5 in Siliguri died at the NBMCH today. She was eighty. A person from Islampur in North Dinajpur also died there. Another 65-year-old resident of Rabindra Sarani area also died today.

Tension ran high over the death of a resident of Birpara in Alipurduar district in a private nursing home in Siliguri today. The 55-yearold woman had tested positive at the nursing home. However, family members demanded the test be done again as she had earlier tested negative at the NBMCH. Meanwhile, 23 new cases in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation–16 in Darjeeling district and seven in Jalpaiguri district–have been detected in the past 24 hours.

Darjeeling officials, meanwhile, said 59 cases were detected in the district today, including the 16 in the SMC. “Twenty cases are from Naxalbari, four from Matigara, five from Darjeeling Municipality, two in Kharibari, one in Bijanbari, 10 in Kurseong and one in Mirik,” an official said, adding that 41 patients were also discharged, including those in home isolation.