Election season propels West Bengal's COVID case to record high

On April 11, West Bengal set a record in the daily infection rate at 4,398, a number that threatened to rise fast against the backdrop of distancing protocols being thrown to the winds in the hectic election season in the state.

West Bengal is one of the five states — Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Bengal — that is holding assembly elections. But while polling in all the other states are over, that in Bengal will continue till April 29. Four phases have so far been completed with prominent leaders regularly addressing public meetings that have turned out to be show of strength with parties trying to outsmart each other on attendance.

Since the outbreak of this pandemic last year, the highs of daily infection witnessed in the state were 4,157 on October 22, and 4,143 and 4,148 on the next two days.

The numbers in Bengal have gone up by leaps and bounds in the past few weeks. On March 1 this year, the number was only 198.

On April 1, the number of daily infections jumped to 1,274, a rise by almost 6.5 times.

In the past 24 hours among all the 23 districts in the state, Kolkata reported the highest number of new cases at 1,109 followed by 1,047 in North 24 Parganas district.

As the state stands in the middle of election frenzy, doctors and experts are apprehensive that the numbers might surge to 5,500-6,000 per day if the electioneering continues to violate COVID protocols.

Incidentally, Maharashtra that has become the COVID capital of India, recorded 28,937 fresh infections on April 11.

“The government is maintaining a strict vigil on the issue. All the chief medical officers in the different districts have been briefed about the situation. We are also discussing the matter with private hospitals to increase the number of beds for COVID patients,” said Ajoy Chakroborty, director of state health services.

With 10 deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, the total number of COVID-related deaths crossed reached 10,400, said a bulletin from the state government.

The fatality rate in Bengal since the outbreak of the pandemic last year stands at 10.9%. The total number of infections have risen to 6,14,896.

Renowned cardiologist Kunal Sarkar said: “The election campaign is jeopardising the situation. No party or leaders are obeying the guideline. I have not seen any person wearing mask in these rallies.”

“If we are not obeying the protocols properly i.e. wearing mask, maintaining 6 foot distance, washing hands or use sanitizers, the daily infection figures might easily multiply,” said Sabyasachi Saha, a doctor from state-run Bangur Institute of Neurology.

Bratya Basu, Trinamool Congress candidate from Dumdum admitted their limitations. “This is a real problem. We are doing our best to adhere to the protocols during the campaign but there are gaps. We all have to maintain all the protocols.”

“We ensure everybody in rallies wear mask and use sanitizers. But still we should be more cautious.” said Samik Bhattacharjee, BJP’s candidate from Rajarhat-Gopalpur.

A pulmonologist from a major hospital in EM Bypass area said: “The buses and trucks that are ferrying people to the political rallies are usually packed to capacity and follow no distancing norms. This could trigger a jump in the infections in the state.”