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Authorities in Karnataka's Mandya district have issued a high alert after 84 pilgrims returned from Tamil Nadu having tested positive for Covid-19, they said on Friday.
More than 800 pilgrims are expected to arrive in the district in the near future, and authorities have begun preparing to test them for Covid-19.
Tamil Nadu's Om Shakti temple attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the district every year. In response to the positive test results from a number of devotees who returned from Tamil Nadu after the pilgrimage, the district authorities have learned that about 3,600 people from different villages in the district returned from the pilgrimage.
The district authorities and the health department have been working together to manage the situation. The 84 positives have been quarantined at home and will be tested again for Covid-19 after seven days.
Tehsildars have been ordered to open quarantine and isolation centres in each of the taluks. Meanwhile, the district administration has issued prohibitory orders in the district and asked everyone to cancel their bookings for pilgrimages and outer states.
Om Shakti devotees have been asked by authorities to cooperate with them so that disease spread is contained.