On Monday, Bengal had logged 15,992 cases and 68 deaths (File)
Just two days before the last phase of the assembly elections, West Bengal has reported its biggest-ever daily coronavirus spike.
The state today logged 16,403 new Covid cases and highest-ever 73 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, Bengal's total of coronavirus cases reached 7,76,345, a bulletin issued by the state's health department said today.
The state's death count stands at 11,082.
10,664 people recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to 85.61 per cent, which has been dropping every day amid the Covid surge brought on by the virulent second wave of infections.
Bengal currently has 1,00,615 active cases.
The state capital Kolkata has reported 3,708 new cases and 24 deaths in a day.
After Kolkata, North-24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly are the worst-hit districts in the state.
On Monday, Bengal had logged 15,992 cases and 68 deaths.
This comes as the country has been logging over 3 lakh daily Covid cases for several days. The massive caseload has brought the health infrastructures of several states to the brink of collapse.
Severe shortages of hospital beds, oxygen and medicines have been reported in the worst-affected states.
Disquieting scenes of critically ill people dying on roads and outside hospitals in the absence of oxygen and medical care have emerged from several cities across the country.
The coronavirus surge has also exerted tremendous pressure on the healthcare infrastructure of Bengal.
Bengal - which recently witnessed crowded rallies where people were often found without masks despite the surge - will vote for its eighth and last phase of assembly elections on April 29.
Counting will be held on May 2.
The Madras High Court on Monday said the Election Commission was responsible for the second wave of Covid as it could not enforce the anti-Covid rules. Asking for an enforcement plan for May 2, the court warned that the counting could also be stopped.