Amid a massive surge in the COVID-19 cases, the Uttarakhand government on Thursday suspended the Char Dham Yatra for this year. The yatra was scheduled to start on May 14. Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said that only priests of the four temples will perform rituals and puja.
"Uttarakhand government has suspended Char Dham Yatra this year in view of COVID-19 situation in the state. Only priests of the four temples will perform rituals and puja," said Rawat. The Chief Minister said that the decision has been taken in view of the rising cases of coronavirus infections. The four pilgrimage sites are Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarakhand. The state had recorded 6,054 new COVID-19 cases and 108 deaths on Wednesday. There are 45,383 active COVID-19 cases in the state, while 1,17,221 have recovered, as per the state health department.
The surge in the COVID-19 cases continues to affect India as the country records 3,79,257 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. This is the highest single-day spike in the cases since the pandemic began last year. According to the Union Health Ministry, as many as 3,645 deaths and 2,69,507 recoveries were also recorded in the last 24 hours. Total active cases of the infection in India have now mounted to 30,84,814.
The cumulative count of the COVID-19 has gone up to 1,83,76,524, while as many as 2,04,832 people have succumbed to the disease so far. A total of 1,50,86,878 people have recovered from the disease till now. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), as many as 28,44,71,979 samples have been tested for COVID-19 up to April 28. Of these 17,68,190 samples were tested on Wednesday across India. The total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered stand at 15,00,20,648, informed the Health Ministry.
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