Indian PM cautions against 3rd wave of COVID-19 as religious pilgrimage allowed

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday cautioned against callousness regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, a day after an annual mass religious pilgrimage is officially allowed.

"It's a matter of concern that people are travelling without face masks at hill stations and marketplaces," said Modi after interacting with chief ministers of northeastern states on the COVID-19 situation via video conferencing.

Modi also said that in order to combat the possible third wave of COVID-19, "we need to continue to accelerate the vaccination process."

Chief Minister of northern state Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath gave a go-ahead for the annual pilgrimage "Kanwar Yatra," during which Hindu devotees fetch water from holy river Ganga, walking down to their respective homes as far as 150 miles.

Hundreds of thousands of people congregated at Haridwar, a holy town in the northern hilly state of Uttarakhand, to take a holy dip in river Ganga during the Kumbh festival in April this year, contributing to the deadly second wave of outbreak, during which daily cases hit 400,000 and daily fatalities topped 4,000 for several days.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday warned against the "Kanwar Yatra," saying such a pilgrimage can wait. "Opening up these rituals and enabling people without vaccination to go scot-free in these mass gatherings are potential super spreaders for the COVID third wave," it said in a press release.

Appealing to the public at large to strictly follow COVID appropriate behavior for at least three more months, the IMA said that all state governments should ensure control of mass gatherings in their states.

The daily COVID-19 cases in India have been on the decline over the past few weeks. The latest tally of COVID-19 cases and deaths in India stands at 30,907,282 and 410,784, respectively.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)