It reiterated that pilgrims require a Haj visa and it can be obtained through recognised official channels
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home region Gujarat became the latest to tighten coronavirus curbs on Wednesday as the country’s infections surged to a record of almost 116,000 new cases in 24 hours.
Experts blame the country’s fresh wave on people ignoring guidelines and attending huge religious and political events, as well as weddings and cricket matches.
India has now recorded 12.8 million cases, the third-highest behind the United States and Brazil, although those nations have much smaller populations. More than 166,000 Indians have died.
Maharashtra, the worst-hit state and home to megacity Mumbai, has imposed a night curfew and weekend lockdowns are due to begin on Friday evening.
New Delhi imposed night curfews from Tuesday, and on Wednesday, Gujarat in western India extended after-dark restrictions to 20 cities and banned large social and political gatherings.
“We have also extended the timing of night curfew from 8 pm to 6 am... This will be in force until April 30,” Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said in a video message.
Press reports say that hospitals are starting to suffer, particularly in Maharashtra. One Pune clinic is reportedly giving oxygen support to patients in a makeshift waiting area.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), one of Delhi’s biggest government hospitals, will from Thursday end walk-in consultations to minimise infections, reports said.
The government has so far shied away from reimposing a nationwide lockdown after a shutdown in March 2020 — one of the world’s toughest — caused widespread human and economic misery.
Many Indians lowered their guard after infections slowed sharply in late 2020, with huge crowds thronging religious festivals such as the Kumbh Mela which on one day last month saw three million attendees.
Spectators were also allowed at cricket matches between India and England in Gujarat, while political rallies for state elections have drawn huge crowds, including an estimated 800,000 at one event hosted by Modi.
India has so far administered almost 90 million vaccine shots but experts say that the government’s target of inoculating 300 million people by August risks being missed with many scared to get the injections or complacent about the virus.
It reiterated that pilgrims require a Haj visa and it can be obtained through recognised official channels
The 18-year-old was taken to hospital in a serious condition
The brothers, who say they are innocent, are accused of having formed an organised criminal network in early 2021 in Romania, as well as in the US and Britain
The left-handed batter scored 3369 runs in 136 one-day internationals and 2893 in 140 Twenty20 internationals — both Pakistan records
Food supplies were distributed to 80 households
On January 31, a heart was airlifted from Delhi to Chennai, paving the way for Ayesha Rashid's life-saving surgery
The online retailer, which is headquartered in Singapore, has said it has around 108 million monthly active users in the 27-nation EU
The baby girl named Rouh, meaning Soul, suffered respiratory problems and a weak immune system, a doctor at the Emirati Hospital in Rafah said