Tens of thousands of people bathed in the Ganges, a river sacred to Hindus, in Sangam where the Magh Mela religious festival which will last 47 days kicks off today. Without masks and social distancing, the Hindu faithful prayed and immersed themselves in the river to purify their sins regardless of the fears of the spread of the coronavirus, as reported on the India Tribune.
The newspaper underlines how the authorities had difficulty managing the pilgrims, who arrived in West Bengal yesterday, and enforcing the anti-Covid regulations. The risk now is that of a maxi outbreak. Last year the event kicked off the second wave of infections. This year the authorities of the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Prayagraj is located, refused to ban the event.
Hindi news channel ABP reported that over 70 percent of people were without face masks. Prime Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed to people with coronavirus-related symptoms not to dive into the Ganges.
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