Lucknow
Indian villagers have erected a shrine to “goddess corona” and are offering her prayers in the hope that divine intervention can banish the deadly virus.
Devotees in Shuklapur village, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, have been offering prayers, holy water, and flowers at the bright yellow shrine where they have placed their idol of “Corona Mata”, since they erected it this week.
“Maybe with her blessings the villagers, our village, and everyone else get some relief,” one villager, who gave her name as Sangeeta, said on Friday.
India was hit hard by a surge of coronavirus infections in April and May but there are signs the worst could be over.
Meanwhile, India reported 80,834 fresh COVID-19 cases, the lowest after 71 days, while the daily positivity rate further dropped to 4.25 per cent, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday With the fresh cases, the country’s tally of cases has climbed to 2,94,39,989.
The Covid-19 death toll climbed to 3,70,384 with 3,303 daily deaths, the data updated at 8 am showed.
Also Read: Covid-19 update: India logs 84,332 new cases in 24 hours, its lowest in 70 days
The active cases further declined to 10,26,159 comprising 3.49 per cent of the total infections, while the national Covid-19 recovery rate has improved to 95.26 per cent.
A net decline of 54,531 cases has been recorded in the Covid-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
Also Read: Severe Covid-19 may lead to low ‘gray matter’ in brain after oxygen therapy, says study
Also 19,20,477 tests were conducted on Saturday taking the total cumulative tests conducted so far for detection of Covid-19 in the country to 37,62,32,162 while the daily positivity rate has further dropped to 4.25 per cent.
It has been less than 10 per cent for 20 consecutive days, the ministry said, adding the weekly positivity rate fell below 5 per cent and was recorded 4.74 per cent.—AP
