Former Uttar Pradesh CM and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday, 14 April, took to Twitter to announce that he had tested positive for COVID-19, adding that he was in isolation and being treated at home.
He also asked people who had come in contact with him to get tested and remain in isolation for a few days.
Yadav had recently visited Uttarakhand’s Haridwar where he met a number of saints and seers. Some of the saints, including Mahant Narendra Giri, later tested positive for COVID-19, reported IANS.
Haridwar has been seeing a huge number of COVID cases in the last few days as devotees throng the ghats amid the Kumbh Mela. On Tuesday, Uttarakhand's Haridwar reported 594 fresh COVID cases, while on Monday, 408 cases had been registered, reported NDTV.
Despite the country’s struggling situation with the COVID-19 surge, as many as 35 lakh people took ‘snan’ in and around the Kumbh Mela area on Monday, according to official estimates. The ‘snan’ went on till 9 pm.
The Kumbh Mela is a Hindu pilgrimage held every 12 years at river ford sites along the Ganges river in India.
(With inputs from IANS.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)