Massive religious gathering worries India as Covid cases surge

This article is more than 12 months old

Mar 22, 2021 06:00 am

NEW DELHI: India's Health Ministry yesterday warned that a huge gathering for a Hindu festival could send coronavirus cases surging, as the country recorded the most new infections in nearly four months.

The ministry said up to 40 people were testing positive for Covid-19 daily around the site of the Mahakumbh festival that began this month and peaks in April in the town of Haridwar, next to the Ganges. The festival is held once every 12 years. Organisers have said more than 150 million visitors are expected.

In a letter to the state government of Uttarakhand, the ministry said its daily testing of 55,000 people in Haridwar was not enough given the large numbers of pilgrims expected, and that cases were already rising.

Uttarakhand said it made mask-wearing mandatory for devotees, would distribute millions of masks for free, sanitise public areas and follow the government's ground rules.

India reported 43,846 cases in the past 24 hours. Deaths rose by 197, the highest in more than two months, to 159,755. - REUTERS