Bengal on Friday logged 493 recoveries from Covid-19, 406 infections and eight deaths as the drop in total active cases continued for the 88th consecutive days since Vijaya Dashami last year.

The total of active cases fell from 37,190 on Dashami (October 26) to 6,470 on Friday. The recovery rate rose for 91 consecutive days to touch 97.08.

“We have achieved such a great deal of improvement in these three months since the end of Puja. Even our most optimistic assessments did not put us here at this stage,” said a Bengal minister.

The state now has nearly 5.67 lakh Covid-19 cases, including around 5.51 lakh recoveries and 10,097 deaths.

Calcutta High Court had intervened to prevent the 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 that the outbreak did not worsen over the New Year celebrations — a goal the state government believes has also been achieved.

The state’s positive confirmation rate is 7.29 per cent now, having improved steadily from 8.27 per cent 63 days ago.

Bengal’s total test count, including the examination of 28,171 swab samples logged on Friday, is over 77.79 lakh now. The tests per million people are 86,443.

The state attributed 8,472 (83.9 per cent) of the total deaths to comorbidities. Bengal’s mortality rate remained 1.77, compared to the 1.44 per cent nationally.

“There has been enough improvement for us to give up several hundred more beds, requisitioned from private hospitals. We could also dismantle more quarantine facilities, going forward. We have this under control now,” said the minister.