Kolkata: The COVID-19 death toll climbed to 699 in West Bengal after 16 more people succumbed to the disease on Thursday, while 649 fresh cases pushed the state’s infection tally to 19,819, a health department bulletin said.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in the state crossed the 6,000-mark to reach 6,083, it added.
Since Wednesday evening, 509 people have recovered from the disease in the state, the bulletin said.
According to the bulletin, 15 of the dead coronavirus patients suffered from other ailments too.
Eight people died in Kolkata; three in North 24 Parganas; two each in Howrah and Hooghly; and one in South 24 Parganas, the bulletin said.
Kolkata saw the highest single-day spike with 218 fresh cases while 162 infections surfaced in North 24 Parganas; 58 in South 24 Parganas; and 56 in Howrah, the bulletin said.
Thirty-three new cases were reported from Darjeeling; 30 from Malda; 25 from Hooghly; 12 from Murshidabad; 10 from Jalpaiguri; eight each from Uttar Dinajpur and Paschim Burdwan; seven from Purba Medinipore; and six from Bankura, it added.
Four cases each were reported from Dakshin Dinajpur and Purba Burdwan; three from Nadia; two each from Kalimpong and Alipurduar; and one from Coochbehar, the bulletin elaborated.
Since Wednesday evening, 509 people have recovered from the disease thus improving the discharge rate to 65.78 per cent.
In the past 24 hours, 10,405 samples have been tested in the state, the bulletin said.
Meanwhile, an official of the state land reforms department tested positive for the disease following which the entire sixth floor of the state secretariat ‘Nabanna’ was sanitised, official sources said.
The join secretary-rank official is undergoing treatment at a hospital and her colleagues at the department have been asked to stay in isolation.