A 65-year-old resident of Mallaguri, who had been undergoing treatment in the hospital for suspected Covid-19 patients (Desun Hosptal) in Siliguri, also tested positive for Covid-19.

In the highest single-day spike in the number of Covid-19 cases in Darjeeling district, nine medical staff, including the superintendent of the dedicated Covid hospital in Siliguri (Dr Chhang’s Super Specialty Hospital), along with another man from Siliguri, were tested positive for the virus today. Four medical staff, including the superintendent and a technician, of the Covid hospital at Matigara were fresh cases at the hospital, where another laboratory technician has already tested positive for the virus on 31 May. Meanwhile, five medical staff, including a post-graduate trainee (PGT), house staff and laboratory technician at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) were also tested positive. However, there was no official confirmation of the fresh cases. Sources said that the PGT of the gynecology department had attended to Covid-19 patients recently. At least 12 interns who came in her contact in the hostel of the NBMCH have now been quarantined. On the other hand, a 65-yearold resident of Mallaguri, who had been undergoing treatment in the hospital for suspected Covid-19 patients (Desun Hosptal) in Siliguri, was also tested positive for Covid-19.

Patients discharged: A total of 30 patients were discharged from the hospital for Covid-19 patients in Siliguri today. Twenty-nine of them are from Cooch Behar district, while another is a patient from Darjeeling district, officials said.

Six more in North Dinajpur: Six more Covid cases were detected in North Dinajpur district last night. Sources said the six migrant workers and returned from Maharashtra recently and are residents of areas under Itahar and Raiganj police stations. However, the test reports have come in after more than 10 days, and sources said they must have recovered by now.

Eight in South Dinajpur: In South Dinajpur, eight more new cases have been detected and all of them are from Tapan block. Sources said three of them hail from a place near the border with Malda district. As of this evening, the number of people in home quarantine in the district was 17086.

Malda boy dies: Meanwhile, a boy, 15, of Manoharpur village in Harishchandrapur in Malda, Pijush Das, died in the Malda Medical College and Hospital last night after he fell ill at a quarantine centre where he had been staying in since 31 May. His family members alleged that he was without food and water for three days in a train as he returned home from Mumbai on Sunday. Sources said the boy was in the Khonta High School quarantine center in Harishchandrapur.

Woman dies in train: Also in Malda, a woman from Sonada in Darjeeling, Rita Sherpa, 62, died in the Padatik Express in which she had been traveling home from Kolkata this morning. She died soon after the train departed from Malda town station, while the body was recovered by the GRP after the train stopped nthe station. “Preliminarily, it is known that the woman had been a diabetic,” IG, GRP, Bhaskar Pradhan said. On the other hand, a woman from Mizoram, Bhanlal Manghai Jwali, 26, also died last night between Samsi and Sripur railway stations after she fell from a running train. The shramik special train was bound for Nagaland from Mumbai. Sources said she had been standing at the door and accidentally fell. The passengers pulled the emergency chain, while the police recovered the body, it is learnt. One more migrant worker was tested positive for Covid in Malda, taking the number of affected to 148.

90 return from Bhutan: Ninety persons hailing from different places in the state today returned from Bhutan where they were stuck due to the lockdown. Thirty-five of the returnees hail from Alipurduar, 31 from Cooch Behar, two from South 24 Parganas, two from Jalpaiguri, two from Kolkata and others from other areas in the state. The Alipurduar district administration had taken initiatives to bring back the 90 migrant works, it is learnt. All of them have been sent to a quarantine centres.

MP manages court order: BJP MP from Balurghat Sukanta Majumdar has managed an order from the Calcutta High Court that says he can be part of relief work in his constituency by following the Covid-19 guidelines. Mr Majumdar today said that his lawyer in Kolkata Arijit Bakshi has informed him of the verdict, but that he is yet to get a copy of the order. The district administration in South Dinajpur has allegedly not allowed the MP to distribute relief among his constituents ever since the lockdown began.