West Bengal records biggest single-day jump of 1,344 COVID-19 cases

West Bengal recorded the highest single-day spike of 1,344 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, taking the state's tally to 28,453, while 26 more fatalities pushed the toll to 906, the health department said.

At 16, Kolkata recorded the maximum number of deaths, followed by five in North 24 Parganas, four in Howrah four and one in South 24 Parganas, the health department said in a bulletin.

Out of these, 24 were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, it said.

Kolkata also reported the highest number of fresh cases at 412, followed by 327 in North 24 Parganas and 149 in South 24 Parganas, according to the bulletin.

Former Indian cricketer and West Bengal Minister of State for Sports Laxmi Ratan Shukla's wife and seven policemen from Kasba police station in south Kolkata were among the fresh cases, officials said.

Shukla's wife is a senior official in the state health department.

Since Friday, 611 patients have recovered from the disease and 11,403 samples have been tested, the bulletin stated.

The number of active cases in the state stands at 9,588, it said.