Virus fears over Kumbh Mela

New Delhi: The Union government on Sunday wrote to the Uttarakhand government and highlighted the need for stringent measures to control the spread of Covid-19 during the ongoing Kumbh Mela in the state.

A high-level Central team visited Uttarakhand on March 16 and 17 to review the preparedness and measures undertaken by the state for the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Haridwar.

The organisers have said more than 150 million visitors are expected, as many devotees believe bathing in the river during this period absolves people of sins and bring salvation from the cycle of life and death. Crowd sizes are expected to swell during three upcoming holy bathing days.

The Centre's warning came in the wake of a spike in Covid cases in the country with India reporting 43,846 new cases in the last 24 hours, crossing more than 1.5 lakh cases in the last four days.

The Health ministry said currently more than 12 states in India have shown a surge in Covid-19 cases during past few weeks, and pilgrims expected to visit Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela could also be from these states. Centre further noted that there is a potential of an upsurge in cases in the local population after "Shahi Snan" days during the Kumbh Mela.

"As per the report of the Central team, 10-20 pilgrims and 10-20 locals are being reported positive every day. This positivity rate has the potential to rapidly turning to an upsurge in cases, given the expected large footfall during Kumbh," the Health ministry said in a statement.

Some 50,000 rapid antigen tests and 5,000 RT-PCR tests are being carried out every day at the festival. But the ministry said more RT-PCR tests needed to be done -- particularly in areas where high transmission appears likely.