West Bengal Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi on Saturday claimed the Adenovirus situation in the state was improving and daily cases were on the decline, even as the state registered 19 deaths due to the infection so far.

Of the 19 deaths, 13 patients had severe comorbidities, while six died due to acute Adenovirus infection sans any comorbidity, he said, adding the state has registered 10,999 cases of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), mostly among children, to date.

"We are witnessing a declining trend in the number of Adenovirus cases in the state. Earlier, we were registering 800-900 cases daily, which has come down to 550-600 per day at present. The situation is fully under control as of now," he told reporters.

The IAS officer said a task force was formed during the day to monitor the work related to the control of Adenovirus and H3N2 influenza cases and treatment of the affected people in the state.

"The task force will meet every evening to monitor the situation. The virus is constantly mutating. There is an alert from the Union Health Ministry," Dwivedi said.

He said referral cases from other districts to Kolkata has been on the decline.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.