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India Covid crisis: Did election rallies help spread virus?
India is reeling from สล็อตออนไลน์ a record rise in Covid-19 cases, with the health system struggling to cope.
Despite the surge in cases and moves to restrict election-related activities, campaign rallies and voting in some states have continued.
The ruling party in India, the BJP, has rejected the idea of a link to the rise in infections.
“High cases have nothing to do with religious or political gatherings,” Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, of the BJP, told the BBC.
What’s happened to case numbers?
India’s daily case numbers began rising at the end of February after falling steadily from mid-September 2020.They picked up sharply in March, and reached record highs this month, and you can see that the rate of growth has outpaced the rate seen in the first wave which hit India in 2020.
At the same time, India’s political parties have been campaigning for a series of state elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as local council elections in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Telangana states.
This has been going on since early March, with voting starting at the end of March, and carrying on through April.
Was there a spike due to election rallies?
The campaigns have often involved numerous rallies with large crowds – with minimal social distancing and very little mask-wearing.Political campaigners and candidates were also seen not following Covid safety protocols.
India’s election commission had issued warnings about such gatherings in one of the key election battlegrounds, West Bengal state – although they don’t appear to have been heeded.
On 22 April, restrictions were placed on big public events, limitingpolitical meetings to 500 people as long as they could be held in accordance with Covid safety rules.
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