Coronavirus India Live Updates: India reports record high of over 2 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases, 1,038 deaths in 24 hours

Naga sadhus proceed to take a dip in the Ganga during Kumbh Mela on Wednesday. (Reuters)

Amid Covid surge, 13.5 lakh take shahi snan at Kumbh

Despite steep rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, more than 13.5 lakh devotees turned up at the ghats of Ganga in Haridwar for the third shahi snan during the Kumbh Mela on Wednesday, officials said.

While the authorities said adequate measures, such as mandatory negative RTPCR reports for those coming in, have been in place to ensure safety of the devotees, many of the visitors The Indian Express spoke to said belief was more important than the pandemic. Kumbh happens once in 12 years and they can’t miss it, the devotees said.

“It is a matter of faith which is bigger than anything else. I am a believer in god. How can I miss this opportunity to take bath on this auspicious day,” said Vicky Tyagi, a railway employee posted in Delhi who arrived here on Tuesday with three of his friends. In their 20s, they said they took the Narsan route to enter Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh.

Revised Covid-19 guidelines in place, curfew from 6 pm to 5 am across Rajasthan

The Rajasthan government on Wednesday revised the curfew timings across the state from 6 pm to 5 am, officials said Wednesday.

Last week, it had announced night curfew in urban areas of ten districts between 8 pm and 6 am, bar Udaipur, where it was between 6 pm and 6 am. Now, a curfew will be in place across the state from 6 pm to 5 am. As per the order, all workplaces, bazaars, and business establishments — bar exempted categories such as IT companies, chemists, bus/railway stations etc — will be shut by 5 pm.

The cap on the number of people attending weddings has been brought down to 50, from 100 persons, while for conducting last rites only 20 persons will be allowed. Also, while the number of people at social, political, entertainment, etc programmes were earlier capped at 100, all such gatherings have now been prohibited.