September turned out to be the most eventful month for Bengal in terms of the Covid-19 pandemic with 94,271 new cases and 1,730 deaths on one hand and 91,489 recoveries and nearly 13.4 lakh tests on the other.
On Wednesday, Bengal logged 3,281 new cases, 59 deaths, 2,954 recoveries and 43,765 tests.
The recovery rate rose by over five per cent in the current month to reach 87.83.
The state began the month with 1.62 lakh total cases and the figure now stands at 2.57 lakh.
Of them, nearly 2.26 lakh are recoveries, nearly double the 1.34 lakh at the beginning of September. The total cases also include the 4,958 deaths.
“The first week was exceptionally good, followed by a slump over the next three weeks. But, overall, we aren’t doing too badly. We began the month with 25,280 active cases and are ending it with 26,332,” said a Bengal minister.
However, while the national recovery rate climbed over the month from 76.93 to 83.35, the rise of the state’s recovery rate from 82.49 at the beginning of the month has been relatively slower.
The tests per million count is now 35,861, which was 20,974 even at the beginning of September.
Steady rise in the number of tests, coupled with a plateauing out of the number of new cases, improved the positive confirmation rate from 8.62 to 7.96 per cent in a month.
Of the total 4,958 deaths, Calcutta alone accounted for 1,710, of which 420 occurred in September. North 24-Parganas reported a total of 1,106 deaths, including 367 in September.
The state government reported 4,221 deaths (85.1 per cent) as those with comorbidity “present”. Of the 1,730 deaths in the month, 1,418 (81.96 per cent) were classified as comorbid by the government.
Bengal’s overall mortality rate is 1.92, which was 1.98 per cent at the start of September.
“The national mortality improved to 1.56 from 1.77 in that window. We have continued to lag behind that rate and are under pressure to improve performance on that front,” said the minister.
The state reported 35.34 per cent occupancy on 12,715 beds earmarked for Covid-19 patients at 92 dedicated hospitals. A month ago, the occupancy was 32.14 per cent but on 12,045 beds at 87 hospitals.
Over 2.75 lakh telemedicine consultations on the pandemic were provided, of which 1.26 lakh were in September.