Will review Covid situation in Haridwar: Uttarakhand govt ahead of Kumbh mela

Uttarakhand on Wednesday reported 200 new Covid-19 disease cases and 49 more recoveries taking the caseload and total discharges to 98,880 and 94,634 respectively, according to the state health department’s bulletin.

With almost one week to go for the Kumbh Mela (on April 1) in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar amid the rising coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases across India, state secretary Om Prakash said on Wednesday that no lockdown will be imposed currently, news agency ANI reported. “The High Court has directed to follow both Centre and State SOPs (for RT-PCR negative test report not older than 72 hours)” Prakash said adding that he would be staying in Haridwar to review the Covid-19 situation.

The Union health ministry on Sunday warned that a huge gathering of devotees during the Kumbh mela could lead to a spike in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19. (AFP)

The chief secretary on Tuesday ordered the district administrations, government organisations (central and state level) and other such associates to take necessary measures to ensure all residents of the state adhere to the Covid-appropriate behaviour such as wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing and sanitising/washing of hands etc.

Uttarakhand on Wednesday reported 200 new Covid-19 disease cases and 49 more recoveries taking the caseload and total discharges to 98,880 and 94,634 respectively, according to the state health department’s bulletin. There were no new deaths on Wednesday and the toll stands at 1,706. The active cases, on the other hand, have climbed to 1,115, the bulletin added.

The Union health ministry on Sunday warned that a huge gathering of devotees during the Kumbh mela could lead to a spike in the number of people testing positive for Covid-19. A central government team led by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) paid a visit to Uttarakhand from last week to review the medical and health measures undertaken by the Uttarakhand government for the festival.

Following this, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote a letter to state chief secretary Prakash where he said that more than 12 states were seeing a surge in their cases recently and the devotees expected to attend the Kumbh Mela could be from these states. Citing the report prepared by the NCDC, Bhushan noted that 10-20 pilgrims and 10-20 locals were testing positive on a daily basis and urged for the need to impose stringent measures to control the spread of the disease during the festival.

However, days before the ministry’s letter was sent to the state government, the newly appointed chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Tirath Singh Rawat had eased Covid-related restrictions for all devotees gathering in Haridwar for the mela by saying that the event is held once every 12 years and devotees could not be stopped from coming, according to a report by Hindustan Times on March 22. This comment of Rawat led to criticism from experts and former Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat who said that lifting of curbs will be very risky due to the surge in cases all across India, the report added.