Bengal, Assam, and Himachal Pradesh showed a spike in COVID-19 infections last week after the Durga Puja and Dussehra celebrations, Times of India reported. However, in absolute terms, the numbers were not so big.
On Saturday, 23 October, Bengal reported 974 fresh cases, which was its highest single-day count in over three months since 10 July. The daily case count had also been over 800 since 19 October.
Bengal had registered 5,560 fresh cases last week, which was up by 28.4% over the previous seven days when the state had 4,329 cases. The rise could have been due to the Durga Puja festivities. The last seven days count was also 10.4% higher than the one three weeks ago (5,038).
Other than Bengal and Assam, Himachal Pradesh also witnessed a rise in cases.
Assam saw a 50.4% increase in cases last week, having detected 2,187 new infections compared to 1,454 cases in the previous week.
In the same time period, Himachal Pradesh saw a spike of 38.4%. The state recorded 1,265 cases compared to 914 in the previous week. On Saturday, the state had reported 257 cases, which was its highest in over a month.
Meanwhile, the maximum number of cases continued to be reported from Kerala.
Assam Eases COVID-19 Restrictions
Meanwhile, Assam, on Tuesday, 26 October, eased the COVID-19 related restrictions in view of the improving situation in the state, limiting the night curfew to 11 pm to 5 am, PTI reported. It used to start at 10 pm until Monday night.
"The situation of COVID-19 in the state has been reviewed and the overall COVID scenario in the state has further improved," said the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) order, which came into effect immediately.
Chief Secretary Jishnu Barua said 31 percent of the eligible population of Assam had been fully vaccinated, while 95 percent had got their first dose.
According to the order, the daily new cases were in the range of 300-400 and were mostly reported from the urban and peri-urban areas, with most districts reporting less than 10 cases per day for the last four to five weeks.
The new guidelines also said that a maximum of 50 single-dose vaccinated persons, down from 200 fully vaccinated persons, would be allowed to attend weddings. Fifty people would also be allowed to attend the last rites of a deceased person.
Sixty fully vaccinated people would be allowed to visit 'iconic' religious places per hour, while 40 fully vaccinated people would be allowed to enter other religious centres.
The order also allowed cinema halls and auditoriums to function with 50 percent capacity.
(With inputs from Times of India and PTI.)
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