Despite a very steep second wave in the country, in West Bengal it is politics as usual. The election lasted nearly a month, with political parties including Bharatiya Janata Party, Trinamool Congress and Community Party (Marxist) having election rallies. This, despite, many warnings by public health experts.

India is breaking records of COVID-19 positive cases across the world. Daily cases in the country have hit a new high of over three lakhs. In West Bengal too, one in every three people in West Bengal is testing positive. For the past few days, there have been calls on social media pleading for beds in Kolkata. The election climate though seems apathetic to the pandemic.

To get an expert perspective regarding the increasing number of COVID cases, strategies like Lockdown and the decision to curb these cases by Center and state, our reporter Suryatapa Mukherjee spoke to Dr Soumyadeep Bhaumik.

Dr Bhaumik is an international public health specialist working on policy impact at The George Institute for Global Health. He is also an Associate Editor for Evidence Synthesis at BMJ Global Health.