In poll-bound Bengal, daily COVID-19 cases rise by 15 times
As the country grapples with a dreadful second wave of the coronavirus, West Bengal has seen its daily number of cases increasing by as much as 15 times in the last 30 days. Active cases in the state have also surged by six times in one month. Notably, elections in Bengal have been underway since late March. Here are more details on this.
Bengal registered 3,648 fresh cases on Friday
Bengal registered 3,648 fresh cases in the last 24-hour period, the highest single-day spike so far this year. Meanwhile, eight more fatalities took the death toll to 10,378. Just one month ago, i.e., on March 10, Bengal had reported 241 new cases. Further, the number of active COVID-19 cases on March 10 was 3,127, which went up to a whopping 18,603 by April 10.
Weekly deaths rose from 11 to 43
The daily death count during the last month remained between 1 and 8. The highest daily death toll, i.e., eight deaths, was also recorded on March 7 and 9. In terms of weekly numbers, cases in Bengal rose from 1,539 during March 3-9 to 16,533 during April 3-9, marking a 10 times increase. Weekly deaths also climbed up from 11 to 43.
Bengal in the middle of eight-phase Assembly election
Bengal is currently in the middle of a record eight-phase Assembly election. Polling in the state began on March 27 and will conclude on April 29. The elections have seen a high-voltage campaign by the contesting political parties, including massive rallies, road shows, and public meetings, where leaders as well as people were seen violating all COVID-19 protocols like wearing masks and maintaining distancing.
India struggling to battle second wave of COVID-19
After managing to widely contain the COVID-19 pandemic by early 2021, India has again been witnessing a massive surge in daily infections for the past few weeks. In fact, the country on Friday reported more than 1.44 lakh new cases, the biggest single-day spike yet, taking the nationwide tally past 1.32 crore. India's death toll currently stands at over 1.68 lakh.
