Over 30 sadhus who are participating in the ongoing Kumbh Mela in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar have tested positive for Covid-19. One of the sadhus include Mahant Narendra Giri, the leader of the All India Akhada Parishad, has been admitted to the AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Rishikesh.
Speaking to ANI, Haridwar Chief Medical Officer Dr SK Jha said, “30 Sadhus have tested positive for Covid-19 so far, in Haridwar. Medical teams are going to akhadas and RT-PCR tests of sadhus are being done continuously. The process will be further quickened from April 17.”
“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.
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.
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