A seer has died from COVID-19 and 80 other holy men have tested positive after attending a vast religious festival where millions of pilgrims have been ignoring Covid-19 advice despite a national surge in infections.
The announcement from authorities in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, came as India recorded more than 217,000 fresh cases in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of new infections to more than two million since April 1.
The festival of Kumbh Mela has long rung alarm bells among health experts who say it could turn into a "super-spreader" as pilgrims return home to their towns and villages all across India.
A gathering on the banks of the holy River Ganges in Haridwar happens every 12 years, and has attracted as many as 25 million people to the site since January, including some 4.6 million on two auspicious days this week alone.
The enormous crowds of pilgrims -- including cannabis-smoking holy men with dreadlocks -- taking a dip in the river have mostly ignored official advice to maintain distancing.
Earlier this week, Mahamandaleshwar Kapil Dev Das, 65, head of one of the Hindu akhadas or ascetic councils, was admitted to hospital and died from coronavirus on Thursday, officials said.
"We had around 2,000 positive cases since Monday during random testing of pilgrims at the Kumbh," Harbeer Singh, a top festival officer, told AFP.
"We are taking precautions and urging people to adhere to coronavirus prevention behaviours."
The officer said they had ramped up testing at the event's 600-hectare (1,500-acre) site and insisted they were strictly enforcing government protocols, including requiring negative virus certificates.
Two of the 13 Hindu ascetic councils that are part of the major get-together have now pulled out over soaring Covid cases in the city.
Mr Singh said more than 25,000 pilgrims were still visiting every day and they were expecting 2-3 million devotees on the last grand bathing event on April 27 before the festival concludes.
The Uttarakhand government has exempted the event from restrictions limiting gatherings to 200 people.
Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat said in early April that no devotees would be "unnecessarily harassed in the name of Covid-19 restrictions".
He too later tested positive for the virus, which has so far killed almost 175,000 Indians and infected 14.3 million, the second most in the world after the United States.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh, home to some 240 million people, on Friday became the latest to announce restrictions on gatherings, calling a day-long lockdown on Sunday with fines of 1,000 rupees (US $14) for failing to wear a mask.
AI-Based Technology To Be Used For Crowd Management At Kumbh Mela 2025 UP Allocates Rs 2,500 Crore In Budget For Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 Fraud By Covid Labs Led To Positivity Error During Kumbh: Probe Agency Mob Vandalised Kolkata Doctor Rape Murder Case Crime Scene? Cops Respond Tear Gas Fired After Kolkata Protest Against Doctor's Rape-Murder Turns Violent 2 French Rafale Jets Collide Mid-Air, Instructor, Pilot Missing NEET PG 2024 Results To Be Out Soon, Check Details Indian Gaming Products Should Make Mark Worldwide: PM Modi Ayatollah Khamenei Warns Of "Divine Wrath" If Iran Backs Down Against Israel Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.