Kolkata, Jan 14 (PTI) The COVID-19 toll in West Bengal topped the 10,000-mark on Thursday, as 17 more patients succumbed to the virus, the health department said in a bulletin.

The total number of coronavirus fatalities in the state stood at 10,010, while the tally mounted to 5,63,475 with 680 fresh cases, it said.

The discharge rate remained at 96.93 per cent after 694 recoveries since Wednesday. Till date, 5,46,193 people have recovered from the disease.

West Bengal now has 7,272 active cases.

The maximum of seven deaths were registered in North 24 Parganas, followed by four in the metropolis, among other districts, the bulletin said.

Out of the 17 fatalities, 15 were due to comorbidities where COVID-19 was incidental, it said.

North 24 Parganas also accounted for the most number of fresh cases (186), while Kolkata reported 159 new infections.

Since Wednesday, at least 32,617 samples have been tested, taking the total number of such clinical examinations to 75,60,561, the bulletin added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)