Experts urge identification, isolation and testing in areas reporting most cases
Photo: @ECISVEEP
The people of West Bengal voted April 29, 2021 in the eighth and final phase of the state’s assembly election even as fears of a ‘viral apocalypse’ grew due to a spike in the number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the state till April 28 were 7,93,552, with 17,207 new cases on that day itself, according to the last bulletin issued by the state government on that day.
Some 77 deaths were reported April 28, taking the total number to 11,159. Some 676,581 patients had been discharged while the number of active cases was 105,812.
Medical experts called for increasing testing to control the rising number of cases.
“This time, unlike last year, the situation is graver and the only option is to increase the number of tests. The number of sample tests has to be increased; otherwise the actual situation will not come clear,” Hiralal Konar, one of the joint conveners of Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal, said the body represents medical professionals across the state.
The next best option to control the spread was to identify the areas where the most number of cases had been found, isolate them and then maximise the number of tests there, Konar said.
“This will help to track these people. Questions that have to be asked are: How much migration is visible in such areas? Among which populations are the numbers more? But unfortunately, nothing has been done so far,” he said.
Of course, people also had to follow COVID-19-appropriate behavior. Konar said people were still not wearing masks properly.
“If the administration wished to control the spread, it must impose strict rules so that people wear masks properly. But that is not being done. If need be, fines can also be imposed. Only then will people become aware. Much damage has already been done by organising political rallies in which political leaders and others did not wear masks at all or wore them wrongly,” He said.
The Joint Platform of Doctors, West Bengal had sent a letter to the Election Commission prior to the election, mentioning the increasing number of COVID-19 patients in the state and a few suggestions to avoid the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The Commission paid no heed and the eight-phase election became a super spreader according to the doctors.
Is Kolkata prepared?
The most anxiety is about Kolkata, the state’s biggest urban agglomeration and among India’s biggest cities.
Kolkata has been suffering from a ‘policy paralysis’ of sorts since February when the election commission dismissed the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
“The Kolkata High Court and the Supreme Court had given validity to the elected body of the KMC,” Atin Ghosh, deputy mayor of the KMC told this reporter,
“Both the courts rejected the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s plea calling for the KMC’s dismissal as they believed that people’s representatives were the bridge between the masses and the administration during a pandemic,” he added.
However, on February 22, the Election Commission issued a notification stating that following the imposition of the model code of conduct, the nominated board of the KMC could not exist.
“So the board has been dismissed and we have become non-functioning. The number of COVID-19 cases in Kolkata February 22 was 82 and the number of deaths zero. You can check the present numbers yourself. If KMC had been functioning, the situation could have been controlled,” Ghosh noted.
Meanwhile, with the scenes of burning pyres, especially in Delhi being flashed in international media, Kolkata’s crematoriums are in the spotlight. There are two designated cremation sites in the city for COVID-19 victims.
One of them is Dhapa. The other, Nimtala, is one of the busiest crematoriums in the city. This reporter made repeated phone calls to the administration of Dhapa and Nimtala as well as the KMC control room, asking about the number of furnaces being used. But nobody responded.
Other busy crematoriums in Kolkata like Keoratala and Siriti are maintaining strict COVID-19 protocols like sanitisation, limiting the number of mourners or attendees with a dead body, etc while continuing their daily activities, an official told this reporter over the phone.
As the election has come to an end, West Bengal not only awaits the poll verdict but also looks forward to proper health management to stop the spread of COVID-19.
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