SpiceHealth has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Uttarakhand to conduct Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and Rapid Antigen tests for pilgrims visiting the State for the Kumbh Mela festival.
SpiceHealth’s mobile lab, accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has been set-up in Haridwar. In addition to the mobile lab, testing facilities at five locations on the State border where pilgrims visiting Uttarakhand for Kumbh will undergo rapid antigen tests. The testing facilities are functional from February 26, 2021.
In view of the current pandemic, authorities at the Kumbh Mela have introduced strict guidelines and made passes mandatory for all pilgrims. Passes will be issued only after the submission of a negative RT-PCR test report, medical certificate and identification proof.
Billed as the largest gathering of humanity on earth, the Kumbh Mela attracts millions of devotees from across the globe. The religious festival is celebrated in a cycle of four times over the course of 12 years, with the site of the observance rotating between four river-bank pilgrimage sites of — Haridwar on the Ganges River, Ujjain on the Shipra, at Nashik on the Godavari, and at Prayagraj at the confluence of the Ganges, the Jamuna, and the legendary Saraswati.
