Haridwar, 15th April 2021: Haridwar becomes Corona’s new hotspot amid Kumbh Mela, 1700 new infected in five days. The Kumbh Mela continues in Haridwar, which is becoming the new hotspot of Corona. Between April 10 and 14, 1,701 new infections of the coronavirus have been reported.

Chief Medical Officer of Haridwar, Shambhu Kumar Jha said on Thursday that the number is RT-PCR and Rapid Antigen Test done by the monks and saints of various akharas in five days. It covers the entire fair area from Haridwar to Devprayag.

He said further RT-PCR investigation reports were awaited and it is believed that the number of infected persons in the Kumbh Mela area is likely to increase to 2,000. The Kumbh Mela area is spread over 670 hectares, including the districts of Haridwar, Tehri, and Dehradun including Rishikesh.

48.51 lakh people who took part in two royal baths on the occasion of Somvati Amavasya on 12 April and Aries Sankranti on 14 April openly flouted the Kovid-19 rules. During this time no one had applied any mask nor was anyone following social distancing.

Despite their best efforts, the police could not implement the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) over the akharas and austerities at Har Ki Pauri Ghat on two major bathing days due to lack of time.

Jha said that saints conducted RT-PCR test till the royal bath of Aries Sankranti on April 14. Both corona screening and vaccination are likely to increase further in the coming days in the areas allotted to the akharas in the Kumbh region.