Bengal on Friday logged 2,912 Covid-19 cases and 52 deaths from the disease as the total number of patients reached 89,666, of whom 63,060 had recovered.

The tally of active patients is 24,652, while the total death toll is 1,954.

With 2,037 cured cases being reported in 24 hours till 9am, the recovery rate was 70.33 per cent, still ahead of the national rate of 68.36.

With 25,258 tests, the state logged the maximum tests in a day, bettering Thursday’s high of 25,224. The total test count is now over 10.54 lakh and the 11 lakh mark is likely to be surpassed on Sunday.

“We are at 11,717 tests per million people as on Friday, nearly twice the 6,361 reported a month ago, when the daily testing was around 10,000,” said a minister.

“We are looking to double our tests per million in the next couple of weeks, now that we have ramped up testing by over 2.5 times,” added the minister.

However, owing to the sharp spike in new cases, the positive confirmation rate is now 8.5 per cent, which was 4.34 per cent a month ago.

The state had on Thursday surpassed the 25,000 target for daily testing, set for August 15, by chief minister Mamata Banerjee.

“While this is something to be pleased with, there is no room for complacence. As the chief minister said yesterday, we will have to keep at it, increasing our tests, tracing and tracking, relentlessly,” said the minister.

Of the 2,912 new cases, Calcutta accounted for 675 and North 24-Parganas, 573. The two districts, which have contributed 45 per cent of all Covid-19 cases in Bengal, now have 51 per cent of the active positive cases.

On the plus side, the two districts have added nearly 32,000 recoveries as well.

Of the total 1,954 deaths reported, Calcutta alone accounted for 907, with 20 till 9am. North 24-Parganas reported a total of 444 deaths, 14 of them on Friday.

The state government reported 1,719, or 88 per cent, as deaths with comorbidity “present”. In the past month, there were 1,127 deaths, of which 1,061 were reported as comorbid by the state.

The mortality rate of infected males has improved from 3.35 to 2.33 in a month. The infected females’ mortality rate dropped from 3.29 to 1.88 per cent.

Bengal’s overall mortality rate improved to 2.17, from 3.33 per cent in a month. The national rate is now 2.04.

“Now, one of our foremost priorities is to get the mortality rate to fall further, to below 2, within the next couple of weeks,” said the minister.