Six persons who had been tested positive for Covid-19 died in Siliguri in the last 24 hours, sources said.

A 78-year-old resident of Jibanananda Das Sarani in Siliguri died in a private nursing home last evening, while a 56-year-old person from Fulbari area, who had been admitted in Desun Hospital at Kawakhali yesterday died the same night.

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A 59-year-old resident of Jalpaiguri died in the same hospital today.

A 75-year-old resident of Ganganagar area in Siliguri also died in a private nursing home today, while a 65-year-old resident of Jaigaon in Alipurduar died at Dr Chhang’s Hospital in Matgara late last night.

A 68-year-old woman from Dhotrey under the Jorebungalow Police Station in Darjeeling also died in the Desun Covid Hospital today, sources said.

Meanwhile, 32 cases were reported from Darjeeling district, including eight in the SMC, four at Naxalbari, 11 at Matigara, two in Darjeeling Municipality, four in Kurseong Municipality, two in Sukna, and one in Sukhia Pokhari, official sources said. Six cases were detected in the Jalpaiguri portion of the SMC.

Also today, 19 patients were discharged from hospitals and home isolation, officials said.

CPI-M demands steps

The CPI-M has demanded the intervention of the health department in various issues related to Covid-19 in Darjeeling district. The Siliguri-I, II & III area committees of the party said the ambulance service had been made expensive by a section of vehicle owners.

On the issue of alleged nontransparent billing by many private hospitals, they said the cost of more than eight-10 PPEs is included in the bills. The party has said that people who need treatment for other diseases are facing problems in private nursing homes, while it highlighted the lack of coordination on the part of the health department with the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC).

Trinamul sees SMC BoA failure

The Trinamul Congress today said the board of administrators (BoA) at the SMC had failed to perform during the coronavirus pandemic, at a time the state government had been taking comprehensive steps to deal with the situation. “Much like the way the Left-run civic board had failed to deliver services in the past five years, the BoA has played a disappointing role since taking charge in May. Though this is not time for politics, it is unfortunate that the board is not providing food items for the people in containment zones, while it is demanding funds from the state government, but it has failed to provide services to beneficiaries under the social security schemes, and funds under the Housing for All, Open Defecation Free prograame,” said the leader of the coordinators (Oppositions) at the SMC, Ranjan Sarkar.

50 fresh cases in Malda

In Malda, 50 samples from different blocks were tested positive for Covid-19 at the VRDL in the Malda Medical College and Hospital last night. Among the fresh cases, 13 are from Gazole, 11 from English Bazaar Municipality, 10 from Habibpur, and eight from Manikchak and other areas. The total cases in Malda now stand at 3377, with 17 deaths and almost 700 active cases.