Kolkata's case positivity rate is one of the highest in the country at 12.5%, Centre said (File)
Kolkata today reported a whopping spike today as its daily case count more than doubled to 1,090 from 540 yesterday. The city's daily cases recorded a 101.85% jump today. Bengal logged 2,128 cases in the same period with 12 related deaths.
The state's case positivity rate has shot to 5.4 per cent, according to the official health bulletin.
Earlier today, the Union Health Ministry had said that Kolkata's case positivity rate is one of the highest in the country at 12.5% and that Bengal is one of the emerging "states of concern" on the basis of weekly cases and positivity rate. The other states are Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Maharashtra.
Horrifying visuals from Kolkata's Park Street shared online showed massive crowds celebrating Christmas on the streets without masks and no care for Covid protocols. The visuals triggered alarm and concern amid the outbreak of the Omicron variant that is behind the tidal wave of cases globally.
The Centre today flagged a "sudden surge" in Covid cases across 14 cities and wrote to eight states, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kerala and Telangana, urging them to take immediate measures to arrest the spike. Cases of the highly infectious Omicron variant are also increasing rapidly in and around the big cities.
"Take steps now to avoid increased mortality," was the Centre's advice, sources said. The idea of taking Delhi's Graded Response Action Plan model across the country is also being considered, top sources said.
While Delhi and Mumbai have shown the maximum spike, other cities, including Gurgaon, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad are not far behind.
In an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus and its "variant of concern" Omicron, Bengal has today announced suspension of all direct flights from UK and other "high risk" countries starting Monday.
(With inputs from PTI)