Millions of Hindu devotees gathered in the town of Haridwar last month to take part in the Kumbh Mela festival while India is fighting a devastating second outbreak.
Concerns about the festival becoming a “super contagious event” have come true. People returning from Kumbh test positive for SARS-CoV-2 and can cause widespread spread. “Super infectious” festival When Mahant Shankar Das, an 80-year-old Hindu, arrived in the town of Haridwar on March 15 to participate in the festival, cases of Covid-19 increased in many parts of India. On April 4, just four days after the festival officially started, Mr. Mahant Das had a positive result for SARS-CoV-2 and was advised to isolate in a tent. But instead of quarantining himself, he packed up a train that traveled 1,000 kilometers to the city of Varanasi. Here, his son picked him up at the train station, both of them took a taxi to their village 20 km from the neighboring city of Mirzapur. 
More than 9 million Hindus made a pilgrimage to the town of Haridwar in April this year. Photo: BBC. Talking on the phone with the reporter BBC recently, Mahant Das said he is now “very healthy and happy” and has been on quarantine at home since his return. He insisted that he did not transmit the virus to anyone, but within a few days, his son and a few other villagers had developed Covid-19 symptoms. His son Pathak, who made a full recovery from Covid-19, said their village had seen “13 people die in the last two weeks from fever and cough”. Village Covid-19 cases may – or may not – involve Mahant Das, but medical experts consider his behavior irresponsible. By traveling on a crowded train and sharing a taxi, he was able to spread the virus to many people along the way. Epidemiologist Dr Lalit Kant said the “huge group of masked pilgrims sitting on the banks of the river singing about the glory of the Ganges” created an ideal environment for the virus to spread rapidly. “We already know that church and temple choral singing are super contagious events,” he said. 
At Haridwar, officials said 2,642 followers had tested positive, including dozens of top religious leaders. Photo: BBC. Akhilesh Yadav, former head of neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, former King Gyanendra Shah of Nepal and former Empress Komal Shah were among those who tested positive after returning home. Bollywood composer Shravan Rathod died in a Mumbai hospital shortly after returning from the Kumbh festival. A group of nine Hindu prophets also died. With growing fears that returnees from Kumbh could infect others, some state governments have ordered 14-day mandatory quarantine and warnings that would severely punish those who conceal. information about their trip. However, very few states have tourist databases and none have systems to check and track people entering and leaving the border. Over the past two weeks, reports of returnees from Kumbh with positive test results have come from all over India. Dr. Kant said: “It was devastating. These numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. Crowded groups of pilgrims riding trains and buses will increase the number of shifts exponentially. I can say without hesitation that the Kumbh Mela festival is one of the main reasons behind the outbreak in India. Why do disasters happen? Mr. Mahant Das was exasperated when asked whether to cancel the Kumbh festival at a time when India is seeing a spike in cases and hospitals refuse to accept patients due to lack of beds, medicine and oxygen. practice. “Why are we religious people accused of gathering wrong?”, He asked. The Kumbh festival is said to still take place out of concern about a reaction from Hindu religious leaders like Mahant Das. On April 12, the festival’s first big day – when more than 3 million devotees soak in the Ganges in hopes of achieving salvation – India has recorded more than 168,000 cases of new, surpassed Covid-19. via Brazil to become the country with the second highest number of cases globally. It was not until a week later that the size of the festival decreased, after the death of a chief monk. Measures to avoid Covid-19 are being stepped up. However, things have gone too far. Last week, event organizers said 9.1 million pilgrims had visited Haridwar. From the outset there were concerns that letting the Kumbh festival take place was fraught with risks. Health experts warned the Indian government in early March that “a new and more contagious strain of corona exists in the country” and that the gathering of millions of non-masked people join one. The festival is reckless. Former Uttarakhand state leader Trivendra Singh Rawat said that he planned to leave Kumbh as a “limited, iconic event” from the outset as experts told him the pandemic would not be soon. end. “The festival attracts not only Indians but also other countries. I was worried that healthy people would come to Haridwar and carry virus germs everywhere when they return,” he said. But just a few days before the festival, he was replaced by Tirath Singh Rawat, who famously said “With the help of Ma Ganga (Goddess of Ganges) in the flow, there will be no corona virus”. 
Hindus believe that immersing themselves in the waters of the Ganges will help wash away their sins. Photo: BBC. The new head of state said that “no one will be banned”, a negative Covid-19 certificate is not required to join and it is sufficient only to follow the safety rules. But as millions flocked to town, officials struggled to impose epidemic prevention rules. Haridwar state medical director, Dr. Shambhu Kumar Jha, said crowd management became “very difficult” because they could not force devotees who had made a long journey back. Recent reports have shown that the state of Uttarakhand recorded 557 cases between March 14 and 20, when the pilgrimage began. The number of infections increased rapidly thereafter, with 38,581 reported cases between April 25 and May 1 – the last week of the festival. Dr. Kant is pessimistic about the way ahead. “Someone said that devotees would treat the corona virus as prasad and spread it. It’s tragic that pilgrims have carried infectious diseases everywhere,” he said. “I can’t think of anything I can do now to fix the situation. Our ship has gone too far ashore. We cannot even safely return to shore. I just prayed for the disease to get better and everyone could get through it. ” The chaplain’s account of the funeral for 150 Covid-19 patients before cremation Every day, Hindu cleric RamKaran Mishra performs a funeral for about 150 people who have died from Covid-19 at the Ghazipur crematory facility east of New Delhi, India.
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