If credible sources are to be believed, Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal is hugely fudging the numbers of Corona Virus cases than what it is in public domain.
On April 30, the bulletin by the West Bengal government mentioned 744 as active cases. However, the report it is required to send Union Health Secretary, West Bengal has over 931 Corona positive cases, as per documents available on the net.
Seemingly cornered, West Bengal’s TMC government has lately been opening up its hidden closet on Corona cases. So far it had refused to admit co-morbid fatality cases as ones arisen due to Corona Virus. Once included, the fatality figure in West Bengal has jumped to 105 which is 12.87 % as against India’s rate of 3.19% — four times the national rate.
Further, earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee has withdrawn its notification requiring doctors to take state’s approval before certifying an individual for Corona Virus, a method which arguably was keeping the mortality rate low. For example, somebody dying in Malda wouldn’t have his or her relatives rushing to Kolkata to have the deceased certified as Corona victim.
This remove though has come 38 days too late, as the state is showing up in the midst of a Corona spread.
The Centre government for long has been complaining that West Bengal is not being forthright on the reality of Corona spread in West Bengal. Centre has also been aghast by the state government asking Corona positive cases to quarantine themselves at home when the procedure is for the state to bring the patient right under its own care. Further, West Bengal hasn’t considered Corona deaths as due to virus if it involved co-morbidity of the unfortunate patient.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had so far vehemently put it to “political vendetta”. When the Centre sent an independent team to assess the ground conditions, hurdles were put in its functioning.