Unfair To Call Kumbh Mela Covid "Super-Spreader", Says Top Official

Reeling off data to make his point, the senior official said 8.91 lakh RT-PCR tests were conducted in the district from January 1 to April 30 out of which only 1,954 (0.2 per cent) were positive.

A top Kumbh Mela official Saturday said it was unfair to call it a Covid "super-spreader" as just 0.2 per cent of the total RT-PCR tests conducted in Haridwar from January 1 till the conclusion of the event returned a positive result, while just 0.5 per cent police personnel on mela duty contracted the virus. Mela IG Sanjay Gunjyal also said the religious event formally began on April 1 when the second wave of Covid was already raging in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. "If we scientifically analyse the Covid data of Haridwar district right from January 1 to the conclusion of Kumbh on April 30, attempts to create a perception that Kumbh was a super-spreader of the pandemic look unfair," Sanjay Gunjyal told PTI. He was in charge of the entire security arrangements in Haridwar and adjoining areas during the Kumbh mela.