Bengal on Monday recorded the sharpest drop by 1,189 in total active Covid-19 cases since the onset of the pandemic, as the total fell to 21,384, back almost to where it was on August 2, 134 days ago.

However, the number of tests conducted was 31,671, considerably less than the 42,000-45,000 conducted on an average every day.

The state’s recovery rate, which has risen for 53 consecutive days, went past the landmark of 94 per cent, to touch 94.18. The national rate now is 95.05 per cent.

With 1,834 new Covid-19 infections, Bengal also reported eight consecutive days of less than 3,000 new cases.

The state also logged 2,980 recoveries and 43 deaths on Monday, including 16 from Calcutta.

The total active cases showed a decline for the 49th consecutive day since Vijaya Dashami on October 26.

“On Dashami, the total active cases in Bengal were 37,190. In these 49 days, it has gone down by 15,806. That’s an improvement of 42.5 per cent. At this stage of the pandemic, that is highly commendable,” said a minister.

In these 49 days, the state has recorded over 1.83 lakh recoveries, outweighing the 1.69 lakh new cases found.

The state now has over 5.23 lakh Covid-19 cases, including 4.93 lakh recoveries and 9,100 deaths.

However, the state’s mortality rate is 1.73 per cent, still lagging behind the national rate of 1.45 per cent. Of the total deaths in Bengal in the pandemic, 7,634 or 83.9 per cent have been attributed to comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, cardiac and renal problems, by the state government.

Calcutta High Court had intervened with a set of instructions against overcrowding to prevent a worsening of the pandemic over the festivities of Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Diwali and Chhath. The numbers of infections from the festivals in October and November has shown that the court’s instructions were effective. The state is now hoping that the upcoming Christmas-New Year spell of revelries do not result in a further spike in infections.

At this point, the state’s total test count is 64.55 lakh, at 71,724 tests per million people.

The positive confirmation rate — the percentage of infections found in relation to the number of tests done — is 8.11, having improved fairly steadily from 8.27 of November 20.

Bengal also reported 20.89 per cent occupancy in the 13,588 beds earmarked for Covid-19 in the 102 dedicated hospitals for the pandemic and over 5.29 lakh telemedicine consultations so far.