Bengal on Tuesday recorded 729 new infections, 756 recoveries and nine deaths.

The state reported 44 consecutive days of a drop in the total number of active cases. On Tuesday, active cases fell by 36 to 10,767.

Calcutta reported 59 new cases and zero deaths.

A state minister spoke about vaccinations. “We are in a good place despite all the non-cooperation from the Centre as we went past 3 crore in vaccine doses administered. That’s 30 per cent of the state’s population, ” he said, adding that of these, over 87 lakh are fully vaccinated, which amounts to 8.7 per cent of Bengal’s population. The corresponding national averages are 28 and 7.9 per cent.

“In terms of fully vaccinated people, Bengal is second to Maharashtra — 1.1 crore — in the nation, and ahead of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, despite having received fewer vaccines,” he added.

Bengal’s recovery rate is currently at the state’s all-time high of 98.11 per cent, ahead of the national rate of 97.34. The state’s mortality rate is 1.19, while that of the nation is 1.34 per cent.

Bengal’s daily positive confirmation rate, which had risen to nearly 33 per cent at the peak of the second wave, was 1.67 per cent on Tuesday.

With North 24-Parganas logging 86 new cases, Tuesday was the fourth consecutive day again of not one Bengal district reporting a three-digit figure of new infections in a day. Nineteen districts reported double-digit figures and South Dinajpur, Malda, Purulia and West Burdwan single-digit figures.

Eighteen Bengal districts reported zero deaths on Tuesday.

Bengal now has over 15.3 lakh Covid-19 cases, since the first was reported in March last year. The total includes 15.01 lakh recoveries and 18,170 deaths.