The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday said that Covid-19 in West Bengal is characterised by "very low" rate of testing in proportion to population.
The ministry also added that the mortality rate in the state is by far the highest in the country at 13.2%. MHA secretary Ajay Bhalla, in letter to West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiv Sinha said, "This is reflection of poor surveillance, detection and testing in the state.
There is also need to increase random testing in crowded clusters". Bhalla also stated that instances of overcrowding in bazaars, bathing of people in rivers, people playing cricket, football during lockdown could be seen across West Bengal.