Bengal on Tuesday logged the 16th straight day of a drop in its total number of active Covid-19 cases, by 675 to reach 17,275, as it reported 1,620 recoveries, 962 new infections and 17 deaths.

Active cases fell till June 9 by around 89 per cent to 14,702, from the peak of 1,32,181 on May 21. But for 11 days till June 20, the number climbed by over 56 per cent, before falling by 25 per cent again over these 16 days.

“We are in the driving seat again. A steady, sharp fall in active cases is now a foregone conclusion,” said a minister.

With worst-hit districts Calcutta and North 24-Parganas reining in new infections at 59 and 92, Tuesday was the ninth successive day since the second wave when none of Bengal’s 23 districts reported over 200 new cases.

Nineteen districts reported double-digit figures and Malda, Birbhum and Purulia single-digit figures. West Midnapore was the only district on Tuesday with a three-digit figure. Bengal’s daily positive confirmation rate, nearly 33 per cent at the peak of the second wave, was 2.08 on Tuesday, meaning a shrink in Covid spread.

Bengal’s recovery rate rose to 97.67 per cent, with the national rate at 97.15 now. The state’s mortality rate is 1.18 now, while that of the nation is 1.31 per cent. Of the day's 17 deaths, three were from Calcutta and six from North 24-Parganas. Sixteen Bengal districts reported zero deaths, South 24-Parganas just one.

Bengal now has a total of over 15.07 lakh Covid-19 cases, since the first was detected in March last year. It includes 14.72 lakh recoveries and 17,834 deaths.