Bengal on Friday achieved a landmark of 2.5 lakh Covid-19 recoveries, 206 days since the first case was detected in the state on March 17.

Bengal on Friday also reported 62 deaths and 3,573 new cases, yet another record single-day jump.

However, nearly 2.53 lakh out of 2.87 lakh infected persons in all are cured in the state, 3,069 of them on Friday.

“This milestone is a timely morale-booster,” a minister said about the 2.5 lakh recoveries.

The state reached its first lot of 50,000 recoveries on August 1, over a span of 137 days. The latest 50,000 recoveries came in 17 days, after Bengal crossed 2 lakh on September 22.

The minister added that of October’s nine days so far, new records for Covid-19 infections were set on seven days. With a rise by 442 to 29,296 now, Bengal reported a rise in its total active Covid-19 cases for the 31st consecutive day.

Bengal’s recovery rate, however, fell from Tuesday’s 87.98 per cent to 87.90 on Friday. The national rate is 85.48 per cent.

Friday’s 62 deaths took the toll to 5,501 deaths. Thirteen died in Calcutta, 19 in North 24-Parganas.

The state government reported 4,669, or 84.9 per cent, as deaths with comorbidity “present”. The common comorbidities among novel coronavirus patients reported up till now are hypertension, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, and diabetes.

Bengal’s overall mortality rate stayed at 1.91, lagging behind the national 1.54 per cent. The state also reported 42,532 tests on Friday, taking the total past 36 lakh, at 40,090 tests per million people.

The state reported 37.59 per cent occupancy in the 12,715 beds for Covid-19 in the 92 dedicated hospitals for the pandemic, besides over 3.11 lakh telemedicine consultations.