Bengal on Monday logged 939 Covid-19 recoveries, 612 infections and 16 deaths as total of active cases fell for the 77th consecutive day since Vijaya Dashami on October 26.

The total active cases on Monday was 7,538, having improved by nearly 80 per cent from 37,190 on October 26.

Bengal now has around 3.5 per cent of the national total of active cases, half of the seven per cent it had about a month ago. It is now eighth on the list of states with the most active cases, having improved from the third place in barely a month’s time.

Calcutta High Court had intervened to prevent a worsening of the pandemic over Durga Puja, Kali Puja, Diwali and Chhath. The numbers of infections from the festivals in October and November showed that the court’s instructions were effective.

A similar set of instructions came from the high court to ensure the outbreak did not worsen over the New Year celebrations.

“Monday was Day 10 for someone who got infected on January 2…. We have been monitoring the data and trends closely. There are enough indicators by now to suggest that even the Christmas-New Year spell of revelry passed without worsening of the outbreak,” said a minister. It is between days six and 10 of the infection that most cases get detected.

Since the end of Durga Puja, the state has reported nearly 2.34 lakh recoveries, outweighing the 2.07 lakh new infections detected.

The recovery rate has risen for 81 consecutive days, from 87.44, to 96.88 per cent. The national rate now is 96.47 per cent.

“We are looking at completing a 100-day streak of continuous rise in the recovery rate by the end of this month, by which time we ought to surpass the 98 per cent mark,” said the minister.

The state’s positive confirmation rate is 7.523 per cent, having improved steadily from the 8.27 of November 20.

Bengal’s total test count — including 23,313 tests on Monday — went past 74.64 lakh, at 82,942 tests per million people.

The state’s Covid-19 total of 5.61 lakh cases includes nearly 5.44 lakh recoveries and 9,957 deaths.

The 16 deaths reported on Monday included three from the city.

The state attributed 8,356 (83.9 per cent) of the total casualty count to co-morbidities.

Bengal’s mortality rate is now 1.77, compared to the 1.44 per cent nationally.