Coronavirus in India : Bihar Vs West Bengal – Which state is performing better?

Coronavirus in India : Bihar and West Bengal have been subjected to many hardships these past few months, ranging from cyclones to employment crises to a full-blown pandemic. While they have tried to not leave any stone unturned to help their states recover, the sudden spike in the number of coronavirus cases still remains to be a cause for concern. The states have been reporting more than 2k cases a day and the number is just increasing.

We will compare two states performance in handling Coronavirus pandemic on various parameters.

WEST BENGAL VS BIHAR: Active Cases

Bihar and West Bengal have recovery rate above 60%, making their active case ratio lesser than 40%.

In Bihar, the active case percentage lies at 33.4%, which is slightly higher than that of West Bengal. Bihar has 16,042 active cases right now, out of the total 48,001 total cases. The most active cases in Bihar are from Patna, Rohtas, Nalanda and Gaya.

In West Bengal, as many as 19,900 people have recovered from the virus, taking the active case ratio to 29.4%. The recovery rate stands at 68.3%. Most of the active cases in the state are from Kolkata, Howrah, and North 24 Parganas.

WEST BENGAL VS BIHAR: Tests Per Million

West Bengal and Bihar have not conducted more tests as compared to most Indian sates. In a state of over 9.03 crores, West Bengal has conducted over 8,74,397 tests. Tests per million people in state accounts to 9023.

Bihar, with a much greater population of 9.9 crores, very close to 10, has tested just around 5,25,430 people, which is significantly lower than that of West Bengal, despite having a greater population. Tests conducted per million people in Bihar is 4396.

WEST BENGAL VS BIHAR: Cases Per Million

West Bengal has a relatively lower case per million count, which stands at 698.5, against India’s which is as high as 1230.1.

In Bihar, there are 402 cases per million population, again is very low in comparison with that of India’s as a whole.

This lower number of cases per million count can be due to the lower number of tests conducted by Bihar per million population. Bihar’s tests per million population is one of the lowest in the country.

WEST BENGAL VS BIHAR: Mortality Rate

In Bihar, the fatality rate is relatively lower than other states in India. It is 0.6% and as many as 285 people have died due to the virus in Bihar. Most of these deaths have been reported from Patna, Rohtas, Nalanda, and Gaya.

In West Bengal, the number of people that have died due to the virus stands at 1536. Most of these deaths have been reported from Howrah, and North 24 Parganas. The Mortality rate in the state is 2.3%.

WEST BENGAL VS BIHAR: Average Growth rate

In West Bengal the cases have grown by 3.6% this week. While in Bihar, the cases this week grew by 6.2%.

West Bengal and Bihar have conducted lower number of tests as compared to that of other states with same of more population. Lockdown in Bengal is extended upto 31st August while in Bihar lockdown has been extended upto 16th August.

States like Delhi resorted to an aggressive testing approach and hence stabilized the condition. Both Bihar and West Bengal share their state borders. Both states government have been blamed for their casual approach in fighting against the pandemic. With rising number of cases it becomes important for both the state government to to devote themselves in controlling the spread the virus.