No convenience in numbers: On Bengal’s coronavirus cases

West Bengal, which reported its first COVID-19 case in mid-March, has actually now taped a total of 922 cases. The State has reported 48 deaths however had actually not counted 72 who died of comorbidities. It is India’s 4th populous State, it now ranks fourth lowest in terms of the number of those tested, and is also way lower than Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Versus a national average of 721 tests per million, West Bengal has a depressing 212.6 tests per million. However what is disturbing is the general hesitation of the government to increase testing and to acknowledge deaths from the disease as such. This comes as a surprise given its initial proactive stand on a number of fronts to deal with COVID-19 It was the first State to move from containment to mitigation to consist of the spread when it announced a complete lockdown befor