A66-year-old resident of Jalpaiguri, who had tested positive for Covid-19, died at the Desun (Covid) Hospital at Kawakhali here today. Meanwhile, swab test reports of a 21-year-old youth of Ward 36 under the Siiliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC), who died at his residence on 26 June, confirmed that he had Covid-19.

The differentlyabled person had also undergone treatment in the Siliguri District Hospital. Thirteen residents of the SMC area, who had tested positive for the virus, have died so far.It is learnt that the Jalpaiguri resident was referred to the hospital from a Siliguribased private nursing home yesterday.

The death comes at a time when the health department is upgrading the infrastructure of the hospital and has formed a team of experts in a bid to control the death rate, and to ensure that lives of co-morbid patients are saved.

Nineteen persons from the Siliguri Sub Division and Jalpaiguri and North Dinajpur districts have died in two separate dedicated hospitals for Covid-19 in Siliguri and the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) so far this month, while there were four deaths in a single day on 24 June.

In another development, a 50-year-old man from Madarihat in Alipurduar district, admitted yesterday in the respiratory intensive care unit of the NBMCH, has also died. His swab test report is awaited. Also today, sources said that a woman from Naxalbari died at the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit of the NBMCH.

However, there was no official confirmation of the same. On the other hand, a day after a fall in the number of cases, the SMC today witnessed around 30 cases. Ward 46 registered the highest number of cases (eight), while the number of cases reported in the ward is around 60 so far, the highest in Siliguri.Darjeeling District Magistrate S Ponnambalam said 26 cases were detected in the district in the past 24 hours, 23 in the SMC area, two in Matigara and one in Naxalbari.

Deb stands by family: State tourism minister Gautam Deb today stood beside the family of a person who died after testing positive for Covid- 19 on 23 June. He was a resident of Ward 17, where Mr Deb also lives. His wife and daughter were infected with the virus, while his son was tested negative yesterday.

Mr Deb today visited the area and requested the head of the department of medicine at the NBMCH, Dr Dipanjan Bandopadhyay, to look after their treatment.Earlier, the family members alleged that they were not informed of his death by the hospital at Kawakhali and that they were informed only after the cremation.

However, the allegation has been denied by the health department. “We stand by the family at the moment of crisis. The local people have also assured they will remain with his son,” Mr Deb said. Fish market to reopen:The fish market at the Siliguri Regulated Market, which has been closed for more than two weeks after some Covid cases were linked with it, will reopen tomorrow, Darjeeling DM, S Ponnambalam, said.

He said the market had been sanitised and that it will be functional in two parts. “One part will be sitting in the open ground and there would be monitoring of the truck movement too,” the DM said. South Dinajpur tally crosses 200 mark:Meanwhile, in South Dinajpur, the total Covid case count crossed the 200 mark today.

Nine more cases were detected today. Officials also said that 120 patients have been discharged after treatment so far. Gangarampur block remained in the top of the list with 40 cases, Harirampur in the second position with 34, Kumarganj 28 and Balurghat 23 with four new cases.