Vaccination certificate a must for Magh Mela entry in UP

With the countdown to the annual Magh Mela on, the Yogi Adityanath government has issued an advisory to seers, saints and devotees arriving at the Mela township to come with a complete vaccination certificate.

The Mela administration has also made wearing of masks mandatory during their stay in the township.

According to Mela officials, medical teams are being deployed at all 15 entry points for ensuring Covid protocols. There would be vaccination and Covid testing centres at all first aid posts in the township. Besides, there would be regular testing and checking at the camps.

District Magistrate (Magh Mela), Shesh Mani Pandey, said that the Mela administration has held a meeting with prominent seers, saints and spiritual organisations, regarding the necessity for vaccination.

He said that visitors can come with negative 72 hours RT-PCR reports and fully vaccination certificates if they wish to stay at the township.

The Magh Mela health authorities have drafted the blueprint for ramping up vaccination and curbing spread of Covid during the 47-day religious congregation from January 14 to March 1, 2022.

Strict measures are being planned after seeing the surge in the Covid cases across the nation and people from all across the country are expected to arrive for the Mela.

While the health authorities have already set up a Covid-19 control room that would function round-the-clock, half a dozen static booths are being set up in the area for collection of samples for antigen and RT-PCR tests.

The Mela authorities have urged all visitors not to let down their guard in the wake of changing Covid scenario and to bring a verifiable RT-PCR report of not more than 72 hours, along with a vaccination certificate.

The Mela health authorities have also roped in a total of 20 Mobile Medical Unit teams for sample collection. These teams would be visiting camps of different religious, social and spiritual camps on frequent intervals to collect samples. Random sampling will also be done on entry gates as well. The test reports will be compiled and maintained by Mela authorities.

Plans are also afoot to rope in a total of 12 Rapid Response Teams to take care of the Covid patients and to ensure their proper treatment at hospital after consultation with the district surveillance officer.