Hundreds of thousands of ash-smeared ascetics and devout Hindus jostled to take a dip in the Ganges during a religious festival on Wednesday.<br /><br />As huge crowds made their way towards the river on a special day of bathing during the weeks-long "Kumbh Mela" festival, health authorities had to pull back a COVID-19 testing crew.<br /><br />Kumbh Mela In-Charge and the Police Inspector General Sanjay Gunjyal said 650,000 devotees had bathed in the river since Wednesday (April 14) morning.<br /><br />People were being fined for failing to observe social distancing in some areas.<br /><br />Infections in the city have already jumped to more than 500 a day since Kumbh Mela, or the pitcher festival, officially began this month, from just 25-30 last month, health authorities said.<br /><br />Hotels have become isolation shelters for those found infected by a team of 300 medical staff running 40,000 random tests daily.
