Bengal had yet another record-shattering day on Sunday with 449 new Covid-19 cases — the highest 24-hour rise — that took the total number of cases past 8,000.

This comes only two days after Bengal breached the 7,000 mark, five days since 6,000 and eight days since the milestone of 5,000.

The cases — 8,187, till 9am on Sunday — doubled from 4,000 in 12 days. The doubling from 2,000 had taken 15 days.

A month ago, the watershed moment of May 8, after which the return of migrant workers and others, stranded elsewhere in the country, started in large numbers, the figure was 1,678.

The 13 deaths reported on Sunday took the toll of deaths directly from Covid-19 to 324. There were, till April 30, 72 other deaths of infected people, attributed to comorbidities by the state government.

Of the 396 total deaths, Calcutta alone accounted for 254.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her government have repeatedly attributed the rise to the return of the stranded, the number of which has crossed over 10 lakh. Most are from high-incidence states, many are infected, and an alarming number are asymptomatic.

“Didi (Mamata) has been livid with the BJP-led Centre for rushing lakhs into the state in a matter of days, without planning, after keeping them stranded for months, without food, treatment, money or shelter…. Now, given the way they are being sent back, the (spread of) infection is virtually guaranteed,” said a minister.

Of the 449 new cases (till 9am on Sunday) 428 — over 95 per cent — were from districts experiencing a high volume of returnees. The total number of active Covid-19 cases is 4,488 now. On May 8, it was 1,195.

West Midnapore reported 84 cases, while Calcutta reported 74, North 24-Parganas reported 68, Howrah and Hooghly reported 37 each.

Bengal now has 11,806 quarantine facilities for returnees on Shramik Special trains, which now have 138,419 returnees, more than another 154,682 on home quarantine and 22,695 in other 582 state-run quarantines. On May 8, the state had 4,964 people in institutional quarantine and 9,576 people in home quarantine.

As of Sunday, 247,425 people successfully completed quarantine.

The release following the cure of 184 persons took the number of recoveries to 3,303. The number was 323 on May 8.

Another “good news”, according to the minister, was the rise in tests. With 9,786 tests reported on Sunday — yet another record in 24 hours — Bengal’s tests per million count went past the 3,000 mark. The total number of tests is 271,074.