political campaigns may lead the Spread Covid-19 in Bengal

Political campaigns may lead the Spread Covid-19 in Bengal

West Bengal is heading towards a severe outbreak of the second wave of coronavirus, as people do not adhere to protocol to control its spread and large numbers of them participate in countless rallies and campaigns of political leaders across the state linked to the polls almost daily. the city doctors fear.

They warned that this violation of the Covid-19 protocol may lead to a situation similar to that of 2020 after the outbreak of the pandemic around the world.

Sanjib Bandyopadhyay, in charge of the post-Covid follow-up clinic at the Hospital for Infectious Diseases and Beliaghata General (ID&BG), which was designated as a Covid-19 hospital, anticipates a “severe outbreak” of contagion in the state in the near future. .

Sisir Naskar, the superintendent of MR Bangur Hospital, another designated coronavirus hospital, blamed common people’s laxity for the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the state.

“In the case of any pandemic, the second and third waves are inevitable according to the law of nature. These will eventually go away, but there can be no careless attitude. In our state, the laxity of the common people in the fight against the disease is the main reason behind the increase in the incidence of the disease, ”he said.

Bandopadhyay said the chances of more people being affected by the contagion are high in the state, as more and more of them participate in political rallies and meetings without wearing masks.

The chances of transmission of the virus are greater at rallies because more drops are coming out of the mouths of leaders as they address the rallies and the people around them shout slogans, most of them without masks. This puts those close to them at risk, he said.

“It is quite a risky situation. We see a large number of people participating in political party rallies and meetings in West Bengal and they don’t care about the rules to be followed during this pandemic, ”he said.

We are heading towards a severe outbreak of the disease here in West Bengal and it can happen even before the elections are over. And if this happens, there will be another crisis in the state in which hospitals may not be able to accommodate many of those affected, ”the city’s obstetrician and gynecologist Hiralal Konar told PTI.

The eighth and final phase of the elections in West Bengal is scheduled for April 29.

According to Konar, the second wave of the dreaded coronavirus, which has already hit the state, could have been delayed for another two to three months had ordinary people followed the precautionary measures.

He blamed the nonchalant attitude of ordinary people such as not wearing proper masks and not upholding the norms of physical distancing for the recent spike in the number of infections.

Konar also blamed political leaders for an irresponsible attitude for organizing campaign demonstrations putting the lives of ordinary people who participated in them at risk.

Doctors said that people’s casual attitude and the refusal of many to wear masks could lead to an outbreak in new cases. (Express photo by Shashi Ghosh)

“The casual attitude of the people is quite dangerous. We have seen this sudden increase in the number of coronaviruses during the last fortnight. The situation is aggravated by holding political rallies and meetings where everyone violates the rules. If the situation deteriorates further and there is only one interim government due to the elections, ordinary people will face a very difficult situation, ”he warned.

The director of the ID&BG Hospital Anima Halder echoed Konar and blamed the casual approach of people for the sudden increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in West Bengal.

She said: “You can’t just blame political parties. I have seen people shed their masks and violate the physical distancing rule since Durga Puja last year. They sit and chat at tea stalls, participate in social gatherings and weddings, celebrate Holi. Therefore, the increase in the incidence of coronavirus is inevitable. We cannot shirk our responsibilities. The situation is bleak and will deteriorate. ”

“We cannot take things lightly thinking that there are now vaccines. There are people who after being vaccinated are randomly violating security protocols without understanding the seriousness of the situation, “he added.

Senior physician Syamasis Bandyopadhyay said there is no data to support that the recent surge in the state is due to political demonstrations. “It is the complacency of the people that led to this situation,” he said when asked.

“The Covid-19 situation deteriorated in Maharashtra although there was no political rally or elections there at the time. There is no data to show that the situation worsened in West Bengal due to political rallies and campaigns. It is the people who are to blame, ”he said.

In the past 30 to 40 days, West Bengal has witnessed a four-fold increase in Covid-19 cases.

On Sunday, the state saw 827 new cases of infection, the highest so far this year, said a bulletin released by the state health department.

The peak number of cases (292) was recorded in the city and another 193 in the adjacent North 24 Parganas district, he said.

In October 2020, during the Durga Puja festival in the state, the daily rate of Covid-19 infection had risen beyond 4000. It had dropped to 130 in February of this year.

By the way, when the state witnessed a spike in Covid-19 cases last year, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee blamed political rallies and protests for it.

The prevalence of the disease was then highest among police officers who were deployed to maintain law and order and were among the front-line warriors against the disease. All medical experts emphasized improving testing facilities and speeding up vaccination to control its spread.

“We must increase the number of daily tests, which is the only way to know the number of contaminated people. In addition, we need to increase the level of consciousness of people to wear masks and maintain physical distancing, ”said Konar.

Large-scale vaccination will be the best way to address the rise in Covid-19, Syamasis Bandyopadhyay said.

“Since we now have the vaccines, we have to quickly inoculate people. The more vaccinated people are, the stronger our fight against Covid-19 will be. Not only this, but we also need to continually send messages to people to increase their awareness about wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing, “he said.