Coronavirus cases hit a record in India as pilgrims gather for Kumbh Festival

Lahore, 14th April: The number of coronavirus cases hit a new record in India as crowds of pilgrims gathered for a religious festival.

According to reports, the rate of coronavirus infection in India crossed a record on Wednesday as pilgrims gathered at the banks of the Ganges River for Kumbh Festival despite oxygen shortage and strict curfews in other areas.

The data from the health ministry showed that in the last 24 hours, 184,372 cases have been reported in India, taking total infections to 13.9 million. Total deaths reported in the last 24 hours were 1,027, taking the total toll to 172,085.

India has been the world’s worst-hit country like the United States and Brazil. The government blames the widespread pandemic is due to failure to adopt safety measures.

Hospitals in India are turning the patients away due to heavy pressure on them and placing increased pressure on government facilities.

An unnamed source revealed that private hospitals are short of oxygen and are turning the patients to public hospitals.

People are not wearing masks, neither are they keeping a safe social distance.

According to the latest reports, hundreds of thousands of Hindu pilgrims gathered to bathe in the Ganges river on Wednesday, to attend the third day of the week-long Kumbh Mela or Pitcher Festival in Haridwar district where more than a thousand cases have been reported in the last two days.