India restricts religious festivals over COVID third wave fears

Authorities restrict major festivals that start this week, warning that a new wave has already begun in Mumbai.

Indian authorities are restricting major religious festivals that start this week and attract huge crowds, warning that a new COVID-19 wave had already begun in the financial capital, Mumbai. State governments across the country of 1.3 billion people, which saw a devastating coronavirus surge in April-May, are clamping down on mass gatherings. “The third wave is not coming, it is already here,” Mumbai’s Mayor Kishori Pednekar told reporters on Tuesday.