A Sikh Priest Ignored COVID-19 Precautions; Now 40,000 Indians Are in Quarantine

How fast does COVID-19 spread? One “super-spreader” in India is allegedly responsible for the required quarantining of 40,000 people.

Baldev Singh, a Sikh preacher from the state of Punjab, attended a six-day Hola Mohalla festival — an event that attracts thousands of people each day.

He died shortly after returning home and 19 of his relatives have now tested positive for COVID-19. Which means everyone they’ve been in contact with also needs to be tested and quarantined.

“So far, we have been able to trace 550 people who came into direct contact with him and the number is growing. We have sealed 15 villages around the area he stayed,” a senior official told the BBC.

Another five villages in an adjoining district have also been sealed.

Those 20 villages amount to roughly 40,000 people, all of whom are required to stay indoors (minus necessary trips for groceries and the like) because of one bad egg. It was only after that that the entire nation went on lockdown. It’s the right move. The virus is serious.

One man’s ignorance has already had this domino effect. How many other people have to suffer because he refused to take the proper precautions?

(Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to Terry for the link)