As West Bengal goes to polls, the surge in COVID-19 cases is concerning

The entire country is witnessing a second wave of infections, with COVID-19 cases rising rapidly. On March 24, a PTI report, quoting a senior official of the state health department, stated that at least eight people in the state tested positive for new strains of COVID-19. While five were infected by the UK-strain, the rest had the South African strain.

The state is witnessing a charged battle between the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. In its bid for a third straight term, Trinamool is facing a stern test from the BJP. In the first phase, both parties are contesting 29 of the 30 seats.

In the lead-up to the polls, both parties have held star-studded rallies with little to no social distancing and blatant flouting of COVID-19 norms. Hardly anyone was seen wearing masks. Experts say that these rallies could be the possible reasons behind the spike in West Bengal.

A report in the Hindustan Times (HT) quotes a senior official of the state health department as saying that in these rallies “you will hardly see anyone wearing a mask. Forget social distancing”. The official added that these conditions favoured the spread of COVID-19.

The vice-principal of the state-run Infectious Diseases Hospital in Kolkata said that any kind of festival or such political rallies are bound to trigger a surge in COVID-19 cases because people are usually off-guard during such occasions. “The more restraint we show during such festivals, the less would be the spike as we had seen during Durga Puja and other festivals last year,” Asis Manna told HT.

According to the HT report, though Kolkata and North 24 Parganas have the highest number of COVID-19 cases, few of the districts going to polls have also seen a surge in the past few days.

Another report in TOI stated that the state health department has asked private hospitals in Kolkata to increase the number of COVID-19 beds, and not refuse admission to any patient infected with the virus. The report added that new COVID-19 cases in Kolkata had breached the 100-mark on March 20, after a two-month hiatus. Since then, the numbers have been surging.