200 Sikh Pilgrims Test COVID +ve After Return From Pakistan

200 Sikh pilgrims, who went to Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi, have tested positive for COVID-19 upon their return to India, a national media outlet reported.

The report said around 800 devotees had gone to Gurudwara Panja Sahib in Lahore on the last day of Baisakhi. Out of them, 200 have tested positive for the virus after taking rapid antigen test.

According to Pakistani High Commission in Delhi, over 1,100 Sikhs were issued visas under Pakistan-India Protocol on Visits to Religious Shrines of 1974. Every year, pilgrims from India visit Pakistan to attend festivals every year.

With a resurge in COVID-19 cases in India, the demand for oxygen shot up unprecedentedly amid the deadly second wave. The supply of oxygen has become extremely limited due to the same.

Baisakhi is a spring harvest festival for Sikhs and Hindus. It marks the Sikh new year and commemorates the formation of Khalsa panth (saint warriors) under Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.