The Mamata Banerjee government on Friday said the death toll from Covid-19 in Bengal stood at five, while 12 more positive cases had been reported in the past 24 hours.

The total number of active positive cases was 89 in the state as on Friday with the discharge of three persons from hospital after the recovery.

“Till now, there were 12 more positive cases. A total of 92. But, of that, three tested negative and went home today. So, total active positive cases on April 10 is 89 in Bengal…. Total of 2,095 samples tested,” state chief secretary Rajiva Sinha told a news conference.

Senior physician Abhijit Chowdhury said the figures suggested the state’s work seemed to have been “fruitful”. “Overall, the pace at which the rate of infection here was growing in the first few days, possibly that curve… a tendency is being seen of that flattening. No place for complacence though. We are on high alert,” said Chowdhury.

He is part of the state’s expert committee overseeing Bengal’s fight against the outbreak and convenor of the global advisory board responsible for drawing up the state’s Covid-19 response policy after the pandemic.

Earlier in the day, the BJP’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya, took to Twitter with a media report alleging that the Covid-19 death toll of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation stood at 10.

“The cat is finally out of the bag!… Mamata Banerjee’s administration is fudging numbers… 5 Covid deaths as per WB Govt’s Health Bulletin… 10 Covid deaths as per KMC records. Who knows there are more! Will CM explain?” he posted.

Sinha launched into an elaborate statement of defence of the death toll and other figures issued by the state government. “It is being said that we have not been giving out the (death) figures accurately,” he said.

“All the deaths being reported to us, we are reporting to the audit committee… a committee of experts. Whenever that committee confirms to us, that this death was due to Covid-19, only then are we announcing it. Whichever death they have said was not Covid-19-related, or was on account of co-morbidity, or for some other reason, that we are not including,” said Sinha.

Sinha responded specifically to Malviya’s allegation.

“We have seen in some places, the CMC is giving out some figures, figures are being sourced from various other outlets. According to the law, neither the CMC nor any other civic body cannot maintain cause of death records,” said the chief secretary.

In response to a question on the Union health ministry differing with the state on the Bengal numbers and comments by the likes of Malviya, Sinha said: “We don’t respond to anything that is opinion based on something which to us is fiction, not fact.”