Experts demand Kumbh mela pilgrims to be traced and tested

Bengaluru: Experts fear that the pilgrims who participated in the Kumbh Mela could be superspreaders of Covid-19. Therefore, they urge all of them to undergo Covid tests on their return to Karnataka and must stay in home quarantine if found negative.

The state government affirms that it has no record of the people participating in the Kumbh Mela and so they have to wait for people to self-declare when they arrive. Whereas, experts say that the details would be available with the Haridwar district administration. The government must make efforts to procure it.

Health minister, K Sudhakar urged those who participated in the mela to get themselves tested and stay at home to prevent the spread of infection. The health commissioner had issued a circular on March 1 to all districts saying that all pilgrims must follow the rules at any cost. The circular stated, “On their return, they shall be informed to self-isolate themselves at home and immediately undergo compulsory RT-PCR testing and following the negative report, shall report normal activities.”

Experts believe that self-declaration would be ineffective. Dr V Ravi, biologist and member of the technical advisory committee (TAC), said Kumbh Mela would have the data of all those how participated in the mela. Moreover, workplaces, corporate companies, apartment complexes and residential welfare associations must track the participants and ensure that they are quarantined.

Dr CN Manjunath, cardiologist and chairperson of the expert committee formed by the high court said, “Testing must be made compulsory for participants on arrival. When we are concerned about crowds at weddings here, an event like this is happening in the mela. They had one in previous years too. The state must get the data, get in touch with pilgrims and sensitise them.”

He added, “The government should follow up, test them on arrival and ensure they are quarantined for 14 days. Implementing this is not easy, but that’s the only way ahead.”

Dr US Vishal Rao, Covid expert committee member said that science should have preceded over faith during this pandemic. He stated, “It’s a spiritual superspreader event. Kumbh mela and even election campaigns should not have been held. The entire healthcare system will be thrown out of gear with such events.”

“Rules are in place. If pilgrims are honest, they will get tested”, a TAC member said. “When swimming pools are closed, we have several thousand people taking a holy dip. Kumbh Mela will become a superspreader event and tracking participants will be a Herculean task”, another member said.

Health Commissioner, KV Trilok Chandra ensured that he will check with officials in Haridwar if they have the data on pilgrims.