India is facing a sudden spike in covid-19 cases

ON APRIL 12th and 14th more than 4m people bathed in the waters of the Ganges at Haridwar in northern India. Both were auspicious days for a “shahi snan”, or “holy dip”, a ritual part of the triennial Kumbh Mela, a Hindu festival. This year’s may be brought to a close before its scheduled climax on April 27th. The festival coincides with India’s emergence as the centre of the global covid-19 pandemic. Rules such as compulsory masks and social-distancing are in place, but widely flouted. “The faith in God will overcome the fear of the virus,” said Tirath Singh Rawat, chief minister of the state of Uttarakhand.

India’s capacity for mass piety constantly surprises. But so does covid-19. The speed with which it is roaring back in India is staggering. On March 1st, the number of new cases reported was around 12,000. By April 1st it was more than 80,000. On April 13th, it was about 185,000. Testing in rural areas is almost non-existent, so the official tally of cases is likely to be a drastic undercount. Even so, India now eclipses America and Brazil, the two next most afflicted countries, in terms of new infections. (Though, controlling for population, confirmed cases are still nearly twice as prevalent in America and three times as prevalent in Brazil.)