With a steep rise in the number of Covid-19 cases after a gap of about four months since February in the state, there has been a steady rush of novel coronavirus-affected patients reported again in many private healthcare units in the city.

Officials associated with these private hospitals felt a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases since the end of the second week of June. Earlier, hardly two to three patients used to get admitted to each hospital on an average every day. During the past three to four days, the figure has doubled or more than so because of high positivity rate nearing four per cent of samples tested in laboratories across the state.

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According to an official of a private hospital in the eastern part of the city, five to six suspects are testing COVID positive out of 25 to 28 samples tested daily. Maximum one or two positive cases used to get the infection out of 10 to 15 samples tested in the hospital laboratory around 10 days ago. The number of COVID positive cases would go up if more tests are done, the official felt requesting anonymity.

“It’s true that COVID infection positivity rate is steadily increasing but no severe case has been reported so far in our hospital. Most cases are mild and little moderate that do not require hospitalization.

Considering the situation we will allot several beds if severe cases are brought to our hospital,” said Dr Raja Dhar, critical care specialist of premier private hospital in Alipore area.

A senior administrative official of a big private healthcare unit along EM Bypass said that there was no case of COVID infection in the hospital so far in swab samples of suspects tested in the laboratory till the first week of June. But now, two to three COVID positive cases are getting recorded in the hospital laboratory since last week, he said.

On Sunday, the highest number of 362 positive cases were recorded in the state since March, according to the health bulletin released by the state health department.

The health department is yet to speed up vaccination of booster dose as well as cumulative vaccination precaution dose though the state records worrying surge in number of Covid-19 cases since last week with daily positivity rate close to four per cent.

The state health department bosses admitted that the booster dose vaccination programme in the city and districts is not satisfying at a time when there has been an alarming surge in the number of novel coronavirus-affected cases since last week.

“People are reluctant to follow COVID guidelines mainly social distancing and wearing of masks and use of hand sanitisers and this behavior leads to steady surge in COVID cases again in the state. We have already sensitised municipal bodies across the state to create awareness programmes as much as possible in communities,” a public health expert at Swsasthya Bhawan said.