MUMBAI— As India's financial capital, Mumbai, gets ready for its biggest festival of the year, daily coronavirus cases have surged, rising more than 2-fold in less than a month, even as authorities imposed curbs to prevent further spike.
Coronavirus cases in the city, which were at a low of 190 on Aug. 16, rose to 530 daily infections on Wednesday, according to government data. Mumbai recorded a peak of 11,000 cases during India's devastating second wave this year, but won accolades for the way it recovered and curbed infections. But as the Ganesh festival approaches, authorities have imposed fresh curbs on public processions and restricted crowding at public pandals - temporary structures built to protect a shrine.
This year, citizens are forbidden from visiting such pandals and the city's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, suggested that only 10 people, preferably fully vaccinated, should accompany the idol for immersion.