IndiaKolkata, Jun 1 () West Bengal reported has eight more COVID-19 fatalities, raising the death toll in the state to 253, the Health Department said on Monday.
The total number of coronavirus cases rose to 5,772, with at least 271 fresh cases of the contagion, it said.
The number of active cases in the state stands at 3,141.
Of the eight people that succumbed to the disease, five were from the city and one each from North 24 Parganas and West Medinipore districts, the department said in its bulletin.
One of the deceased is a resident of another state.
The state government maintained that 72 coronavirus-infected patients have died due to co-morbidities, and COVID- 19 in those cases was "incidental".
Among those who tested positive for the disease since Sunday, 46 are from the northern districts of West Bengal.
"The surge in the number of infections from that part of the state is due to the huge number of returning migrant labourers. Most of them are asymptomatic, but have tested positive for COVID-19," a health official said.
At least 149 people have been discharged from different hospitals since Sunday evening, taking the total number of recoveries to 2,306, the department said.
Meanwhile, there was a power failure in the afternoon in a huge section of the Kolkata Medical College and Hospital, where around 80 patients are undergoing treatment for COVID- 19, sources said.
"Electricity was restored after one and a half hours at around 5pm," they said. SCH RBT IJT