LUCKNOW (Reuters) -India reported a record 168,912 COVID-19 infections on Monday, the world’s highest, while concerns about a further peak increased as hundreds of thousands of devotees gathered for a ritual bath in the Ganges River.
India is now responsible for one in six daily infections worldwide. Monday’s new cases took it past Brazil, for a total number of 13.53 million, according to data collected by Reuters, putting it in second place to the United States, with 31.2 million.
A full opening of the Indian economy after last year’s crippling lockdown, massive religious festivals and political rallies in states holding elections have exacerbated a second wave of infections, experts say.
In the northern city of Haridwar, nearly a million devotees thronged the banks of the Ganges, a river considered sacred by many Hindus, to participate in the months-long ‘Kumbh Mela’ or pitcher festival, at the risk of an increase in infections.
“The crowd here is rising … the police are constantly calling on people to keep a social distance,” police officer Sanjay Gunjyal told Reuters on the site.
Few wore masks as they thronged for a dip in the water on a day considered auspicious according to the Hindu calendar.
Authorities have mandated virus testing for those entering the area, where officials said they fought to stop crowds.
There are also elections in four major states this month, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi traveling to the eastern state of West Bengal to hold rallies that will draw thousands.
“With 1.2 million active cases and the daily number up to 200,000, it is bizarre to conduct polls and a full Kumbh Mela,” political commentator Shekhar Gupta said in a Twitter post.
“This will allow the virus to penetrate deeper into villages and small towns. This is the disaster we dodged with a crippling lockdown in the first wave. Now we invite it back. “
A nighttime death toll of 904 was the highest since Oct. 18, bringing the total to 170,179, the data showed.
LOCKING ON THE RICHEST STATE PLANS
Officials in the hardest-hit state of Maharashtra, home to the financial capital of Mumbai, said they are considering a wider lockdown after major closures over the weekend.
The state, India’s industrial powerhouse, had 63,294 new infections on Sunday, led by a surge in the main cities of Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune.
“It is necessary to break the cycle (of infections),” said a senior state official who attended a meeting with state leaders on Sunday and sought anonymity.
“We are working to identify industries and services that should be exempt.”
The state is one of many to have demanded more vaccines for immunization campaigns. India has injected more than 100 million doses since mid-January, the highest figure after the United States and China, but much lower as a percentage of the population than in many countries.
As the number of cases has risen, India has banned the export of antiviral medication remdesivir and its active ingredients, which doctors have used to treat patients.
(Global Vaccination Tracker: Here)
(Interactive graphical tracking of global coronavirus spread: here)
Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav, Saurabh Sharma; Additional reporting by Suchitra Mohanty and Rama Venkat; Written by Neha Arora; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani