Amidst the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar, 30 sadhus have tested positive for Covid-19, the city’s Chief Medical Officer said on Friday.
Till now, 30 sadhus have tested positive for Covid-19. The cases are not in any specific akhada. There are cases in almost all the akhadas, including Niranjini, Juna, and others. The medical teams are conducting RT-PCR tests and the process will be quickened from April 17, said Dr. S.K. Jha, Haridwar Chief Medical Officer.
Meanwhile, the Niranjani Akhada – the second largest of more than 13 religious groups at the Kumbh, has indicated that they will withdraw their participation from Kumbh on Saturday amid the growing concerns of more sadhus contracting coronavirus.
In view of the deteriorating situation due to Covid-19, Kumbh Mela has concluded for us… main ‘shahi snan‘ (‘royal bath’) is over for us and many from our akhada are showing symptoms of coronavirus, Ravindra Puri, the Niranjani Akhada’s Secretary, was quoted by news agency ANI.
However, the CMO said that Covid patients who are serious are being referred to AIIMS Rishikesh. The sadhus who tested positive also include Mahant Narendra Giri, the leader of the All India Akhada Parishad, who has been admitted to the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Rishikesh.
Another prominent sadhu – Swami Kapil Dev from Madhya Pradesh, who was the leader of the Maha Nirvani Akhada, died while being treated for a coronavirus infection at a private hospital in Dehradun; he had been transferred from a facility in Rishikesh.
All of this happened as a Thursday night report from ANI confirmed that 2,167 people from the Kumbh area had tested positive for the coronavirus in the first five days – April 10 to 15.
The next significant Kumbh day is April 27.
On Thursday, the country reported over two lakh Covid cases in 24 hours for the first time ever.
On Thursday night, Uttarakhand reported 2,200 cases in 24 hours – its biggest single-day spike the pandemic began in December 2019. On Wednesday the state reported 1,953 cases in 24 hours.