Bengal logged 16,539 new Covid-19 cases and 238 deaths on four Puja days on one hand and 15,175 recoveries and over 1.74 lakh tests on the other as the rate of cured patients climbed up again after a two-week slump. In what the government hopes is an indication of things to come, the state on Tuesday logged a notable slump in the spike with 3,957 new cases and a drop in the total of active cases — the first since September 7.

“There is a reason to be pleased. The numbers have given us hope,” said a Bengal minister.

There were 58 deaths, 3,917 recoveries and 42,108 tests reported on Tuesday.

“We did not expect to set new records in recoveries and a resurgence in the recovery rate during and immediately after Puja. If this trend holds for a few more days, we are looking at a turnaround,” he added.

Bengal’s total cases now are 3.57 lakh, including over 3.14 lakh recoveries and 6,604 deaths.

It remains to be seen whether Calcutta High Court’s intervention to keep unbridled revelry from worsening the outbreak into a full-fledged public health emergency was effective.

“The impact of the Puja days would be palpable in the Covid-19 figures from this weekend as it is between days six and 10 of the infection that most cases get detected,” said a minister.

“But what we saw on the Puja days was a reflection of the week or 10 days that preceded the festival, marked by alarming disregard for Covid-19 safety protocols by the masses in the shopping and preparation stage. Given that background, the Covid numbers during the Puja days are certainly not as bad as they could have been,” he added.

On all four Puja days, Bengal did log over 4,000 new cases daily. But the highest rise of 4,157, recorded on Mahasashthi, remained unsurpassed.

“In a heartening indicator, the highest number of recoveries in a day were reset on all four days, with the highest being reported on Vijaya Dashami (3,889). On Tuesday, it rose to yet another new high of 3,917,” said the minister.

With the Puja came a resurgence in the recovery rate, which had taken a tumble since the October 6 high of 87.98. Having fallen to 87.43 per cent on October 20, it rose gradually to 87.64 on Vijaya Dashami. The recovery rate on Tuesday rose further, to 87.76.

The national rate, far behind the state for months, is now 90.66 per cent.

“Given the trends in the first couple of weeks of October, we were apprehensive of a major spike in the number of cases found daily by now. Had the damage we were fearful of taken place, we would have seen much worse numbers by now,” said the minister.

Of the total 6,604 deaths reported, the state government attributed 5,564 (84.3 per cent) to comorbidities. Bengal’s overall mortality rate is 1.84, still behind the national rate of 1.5 per cent.

The total of tests is over 43.82 lakh, at 48,696 tests per million people.

The positive confirmation rate, on the rise again since the sharp spike in new cases, is 8.16 per cent now.

The state reported 35.63 per cent occupancy on 12,751 beds earmarked for Covid-19 at 93 dedicated hospitals. Besides, 3.82 lakh telemedicine consultations have been made so far.

River cleansing

The authorities of Basirhat and Taki municipalities in North 24-Parganas on Tuesday morning started the cleansing of the Ichhamati river following the pollution of water during immersion of idols on Dashami. Workers fished out wooden structures of the idols and other puja materials during the cleansing.

Additional reporting by Subhasish Chaudhuri