North Bengal logged 1,385 Covid-19 cases, 2,657 recoveries and seven deaths on Tuesday.

The death toll is the highest to be recorded in a day in the past three weeks.

Tuesday’s count of fresh infections is marginally higher than 1,244 recorded on Monday. The highest number of new cases was reported from Darjeeling district (322), followed by Malda (301) and Jalpaiguri (218), on Tuesday.

“It is true that the death toll as well as the number of fresh infections went up. But what left us a bit relieved is that the number of patients who tested negative in the past 24 hours is 2,657, almost double the fresh cases,” said an official of the state health department.

North Bengal’s total active patients went below 13,000. On Monday, the region had 13,345 active patients. The figure came down to 12,066 on Tuesday.

“Cases are decreasing across the state and the trend is same in north Bengal. In Darjeeling and Malda districts, over 1,200 patients tested negative in a single day,” the official said.

The drop in the cases prompted a number of political parties and organisations to reiterate the demand for the reopening of educational institutions.

“There is no point in keeping schools and colleges closed when everything else is open. The government should make a prompt decision in the interest of millions of students who do not have access to online education,” Siliguri BJP MLA Shankar Ghosh said. .