Kolkata, Jul 18 (PTI) West Bengal reported over 2,000 new COVID-19 cases on a single-day for the first time on Saturday as the state's tally breached the 40,000-mark, as per the state health department.

The state detected 2,198 new cases, following which its active cases soared to 15,594, it said in a bulletin.

Also Read | Maharashtra's COVID-19 Tally Breaches 3 Lakh-Mark With Spike of 8,348 New Cases, Mumbai Crosses 1 Lakh.

Twenty-seven more people died, taking the state's total fatalities to 1,076, the department said. The state has so far reported 40,209 cases of COVID-19.

Record 1,286 people also recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours and since Friday evening, 13,465 samples have been tested, it said.

Also Read | Andhra Pradesh | 14-Day Lockdown Announced in Srikakulam District, Essential Services Exempted: Live Breaking News and Coronavirus Updates, July 18.

Earlier in the day, the state government said there was no need to panic as the COVID-19 situation was under control.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state was normal as "more the number of tests, more the number of cases".

"The situation in Bengal is under control. The death rate which was earlier very high has now come down to 2.7 per cent, which is very close to the national average of 2.5 per cent," he said.

(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)