With 18,802 fresh cases of Covid-19 reported in West Bengal on Saturday, the State sank deeper into a coronavirus crisis, as capital Kolkata clocked a cumulative weekly positivity rate of over 55 per cent ending Friday, Government officials said. The overall tally, since the pandemic erupted, has gone up to 17,30,759.
The State's positivity rate also rose from Friday's 26.34 per cent to 29.60 per cent, portending a grim battle against the disease ahead, with the Gangasagar fair, a huge congregation of common people and seers having begun today.
The Calcutta High Court had on Friday given the go-ahead for the fair, an annual event, which is once in a lifetime pilgrimage for many Hindus, but ordered enforcement of strict guidelines to check the spread of the disease.