Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
clear sky
weather
OMAN
25°C / 25°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

India issues guidelines for festivals as virus count grows

1520232
1520232
minus
plus

NEW DELHI: India logged 72,049 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking its tally past 6.75 million cases, as the government issued guidelines for the country’s upcoming religious festival season.


At least 986 deaths linked to the virus were reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 104,555, the Health Ministry said in its daily update.


The Health Ministry also detailed preventive measures to contain the virus during the Hindu festival season beginning in mid-October, prohibiting any events inside designated containment zones.


The ministry issued guidelines on large gatherings, including site plans that ensure adequate space for events, markings to maintain distance as well as bans on touching idols and holy books.


Based on the ministry’s guidelines, local agencies have to enforce thermal screenings at venues and ensure people wear face masks. Vulnerable populations, such as seniors, were urged to observe the festivals at home.


The final arrangements for the festivals rest with the individual regional governments. While some states like West Bengal have given ago-ahead, others like Gujarat have prohibited festive events altogether, and some are yet to spell out their policy. Authorities and doctors have warned that two events had the potential to spread the virus: the festival season, which sees large congregations and markets; as well as elections in the state of Bihar, which has some 72 million voters.


The holidays Dussehra and Durga Puja are due later in October. Diwali, the festival of lights, will be celebrated in November. Meanwhile, India is also preparing to re-open cinemas, multiplexes and entertainment parks with limited capacity from October 15 as part of the latest phase of removing lockdown restrictions. India’s daily new infections, while still being the highest in the world, have recently shown a downward trend, after hitting a high of nearly 98,000 cases on September 17.


The situation in several Indian states however remains a matter of concern with high infections and deaths. The number of active virus cases has remained below 1 million for the past two weeks, as India posted a recovery rate of 85 per cent, the highest in the world.


India also has one of the lowest fatality rates at 1.55 per cent, almost half the global figure. India is the second-most infected country worldwide, with 6,757,131 cases, only behind the United States, which has a total of 7,501,769 cases, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.


Globally, the coronavirus has infected more than 35.8 million and killed 1,049,854 people, according to the Johns Hopkins University.


— Agencies


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon