West Bengal reports record 2,496 new COVID-19 cases, 45 more deaths

Since Thursday, 2,118 people have recovered from the disease, improving the discharge rate to 68.92 per cent. At least 19,003 samples have been tested in the state in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said.

West Bengal's COVID-19 tally crossed the 70,000-mark with record 2,496 new cases, as per the state Health Department bulletin issued on Friday. The total number of cases stood at 70,188, while the active cases went past the 20,000-mark to be at 20,233, it said.

Forty-five people also died in the last 24 hours, taking the toll to 1,581, it added. Since Thursday, 2,118 people have recovered from the disease, improving the discharge rate to 68.92 per cent.

At least 19,003 samples have been tested in the state in the last 24 hours, the bulletin said.