Wednesday, 03 August 2022 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun
The spurt in the number of cases of Covid-19 in Uttarakhand and the sudden spike in the positivity rate in the state is being linked with the recent Kanwad Yatra by the experts. About four crore pilgrims had visited the state to fetch water from the holy Ganga during a fortnight long Yatra which was held after a gap of two years this year. The data of the state health department shows that the positivity rate in Uttarakhand has witnessed a fourfold increase in the last one month. Incidentally it is the same period during which crores of devotees of Lord Shiva had descended on the state.
The positivity rate or the infection rate is obtained by dividing the number of total tests done by the number of positive cases. It is an indication of the prevalence of the virus in the population at any point of time and a positivity of rate of five or more is considered alarming for Covid-19.
An assessment of the data of the state health department shows that the positivity rate in Uttarakhand was 3.52 per cent a week before the Yatra which formally started on July 14. During July 10 – 16, the positivity rate increased to 10.37 which further spiked up to 14.5 in the last week of July and this period also coincided with the official culmination of Kanwad Yatra. On August 1, the state reported a very high positivity rate of 16.50 per cent.
The increase in the number of Covid cases in the state in the month of Kanwad Yatra this year can be compared with a similar surge in the disease last year during the period when the Kumbh Mela was organised in Haridwar.
On March 31 last year, a day before the Kumbh started, the health department reported only 70 cases of the disease in Uttarakhand. This figure bounced to 149 on April 1, 2021 and climbed to 613 on April 15, 2021, a day after the Shahi Snan of Baisakhi. The increase forced the authorities to curtail Kumbh on May 16 after an appeal made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard but by then the damage had been done and it was later proved that the biggest religious congregation turned out to be a super spreader of Covid-19.
Incidentally the state administration was clearly on a relaxed mode during Kanwad on Covid front. There was general laxity shown by the people in following the Covid appropriate behaviour and authorities in enforcing the Covid-19 regulation during Kanwad and the pilgrims were not seen wearing masks or following the social distancing norms during the Yatra. Interestingly enough, the authorities in Haridwar collected only 51 and 103 swab samples for testing on July 24 and 25 when the Yatra was at its peak and more than one crore pilgrims were present in the district. When contacted by The Pioneer the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Haridwar, Dr Kumar Khagendra said that there was no order to check the pilgrims and only routine tests were done during Kanwad. He claimed that the situation of viral infection in Haridwar is under control.
The founder of Social Development for Communities (SDC) foundation Anoop Nautiyal said that the fourfold increase in the positivity rate in Uttarakhand is alarming. He said that the authorities should continue to closely monitor the situation and ensure compliance of testing, treating and implementing Covid appropriate behaviour.
