Bengal on Wednesday reported 3,189 new Covid-19 cases and 61 deaths, besides 2,998 recoveries, as total cases went past 2.34 lakh, which includes over 2.05 lakh recoveries and 4,544 deaths.

Bengal’s recovery rate rose to 87.37, a rise of 10 per cent in a month. The national rate now is 81.3 per cent.

However, with 25,101 active cases now, Bengal reported a rise in its total active Covid-19 cases for the 16th consecutive day.

In the last 24-hour window ending on Wednesday 9am, active cases rose by 130.

“After August 23, a 15-day (continuous) fall lowered our total of active cases from 28,069 to 23,216. We had fallen below 25,000 (infections) on September 1. Today, we are once again over 25,000. We are looking to arrest this immediately,” said a minister.

“The high-incidence districts of Calcutta and immediate neighbourhoods, which started reporting many more recoveries than new cases was a huge relief, but they have started showing signs of a rise once again. We will address those districts on a war-footing,” he added.

Of the total 4,544 deaths reported, Calcutta alone accounted for 1,619, with 12 reported on Wednesday. With 11 more deaths, North 24-Parganas logged a total toll of 1,011.

The state government reported 3,882, or 85.4 per cent, as deaths with comorbidity “present”.

However, Bengal’s overall mortality rate remained at 1.93 per cent, still substantially behind the national rate of 1.59 per cent.

The state on Wednesday crossed 29 lakh tests, as 45,229 tests in the day took the total past 29.24 lakh.

Having begun testing in early February, Bengal took over three-and-a-half months to get to the first lakh.

Over the four months that followed, it conducted over 28 lakh more tests.

“For some time now, we have been covering a lakh tests every two days. With a week left in the month, we have conducted 10.36 lakh tests in September already. Our testing per million has almost doubled in a month, to 32,495. All these are positives,” said the minister.

Steady rise in testing, coupled with no major spike in the number of new cases, has dragged down the positive confirmation rate from 8.9 on August 23 to 8.02 per cent now.

The state reported 33.93 per cent occupancy in the 12,675 beds earmarked for Covid-19 in the 92 dedicated hospitals for the pandemic.

Over 2.46 lakh telemedicine consultations for the pandemic were provided, including 4,072 in the past 24 hours.