Bengal on Tuesday logged 3,188 Covid-19 cases, 62 deaths and 2,961 recoveries as the total number of patients went past 2.53 lakh, of whom nearly 2.23 lakh were cured and 4,899 died.

The recovery rate inched closer to 88, reaching 87.8, ahead of the national rate of 83.01 per cent, despite a relative slowdown in recent weeks.

With more new cases found than recoveries in the 24-hour period till 9am on Tuesday, the total number of active cases rose for the 22nd consecutive day to 26,064.

Calcutta alone reported 691 new cases, while North 24-Parganas had 634. On the other hand, Calcutta logged 608 recoveries and North 24-Parganas 304.

“After quite a remarkable turnaround till the first week of this month, we have been undergoing a bit of a dampener. But despite the negatives, our recovery rate has been relentlessly rising. We are trying to find a way to stem the tide of daily number of new cases and deaths,” said a minister.

Of the total 4,899 deaths reported till date, Calcutta alone accounted for 1,699, with 15 reported on Tuesday. North 24-Parganas reported a total of 1,088 deaths, 11 of them on Tuesday.

The state government reported 4,169 deaths (85.1) as those with comorbidity “present”. Bengal’s overall mortality rate remains 1.93, still substantially behind the national rate of 1.56 per cent.

“We began the month with a mortality rate of 1.98 and had the chief minister’s specific instructions to ensure that it falls to less than 1. But that turned out to be a tall ask, as we kept having 50-60 deaths daily,” said the minister.

“Just two districts (Calcutta and North 24-Parganas) keep reporting 30-odd deaths daily, which makes it very difficult to lower the state-wide toll,” he added.

On the plus side, having already conducted nearly 13 lakh tests in September, the total test count is over 31.83 lakh now. The state reported 43,759 tests on Tuesday. The tests per million count is now 35,374, which was 20,974 even at the beginning of September.

Steady rise in the tests, coupled with a plateauing out of the number of new cases being found, improved the positive confirmation rate from 8.9 on August 23 to 7.97 per cent.

The state reported 35.77 per cent occupancy on 12,675 beds earmarked for Covid-19 at 92 hospitals. Over 2.71 lakh telemedicine consultations for the pandemic were provided, including 4,139 in the past 24 hours.