Polls and Covid go hand-in hand in Bengal, state now has third highest fatality rate in India

West Bengal is only halfway through elections. Even as the number of cumulative Covid cases in the state is less than in many others, the rapid rise in new infections has evolved as a concern for it.

Mass flouting of Covid-19 norms, especially in the form of public rallies in states holding elections, has become a major cause for the surge in infections, according to experts. And West Bengal, which is witnessing a high-decibel campaign in an eight-phase election, bears testimony to the fact, with cases skyrocketing and every Covid-related figure painting a disappointing picture for the state. At 1.7 per cent, Bengal now has the third-highest Covid fatality rate in India; the national average being 1.3 per cent. The figure is the same as Maharashtra, the worst affected state in the country. Bengal is only behind Punjab and Sikkim in this regard. In terms of test positivity rate (TPR), the state has rapidly reached the seventh position in India. Bengal has a positivity rate of 6.5 per cent against the all-India average of 5.2 per cent. TPR is the share of people who’ve tested positive for the virus among the total people tested.