Sikh Pilgrims Returning From Pakistan Test Positive For Covid, Tear Reports On Knowing Test Results: Report

At least 100 Sikh pilgrims have tested positive for Covid-19 after their return from Pakistan. They are among 815 who went to Pakistan to celebrate Baisakhi at Lahore’s Gurdwara Panja Sahib. They reportedly also visited Gurdwara Darbar Sahib at Kartarpur on 19 April and other places in Pakistan.

The pilgrims underwent the mandatory Rapid Antigen Test on reaching the Joint Check Post at the Attari-Wagah border. An official has been quoted as saying: “Initially, only those who tested negative were allowed to leave for home while others who tested positive are under observation."

The report says that there were also some unruly scenes as some of the pilgrims confronted health staff. They even tore reports and snatched official records on knowing that they are Covid-19 positive. "They claimed that their reports were negative when they left for Pakistan," the report mentions.

An official has been quoted as saying: “The devotees were asked to quarantine themselves at their homes as at present, there is no special institution is operational at the government level to quarantine such patients.’’

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) sponsored the pilgrimage. Its president Bibi Jagir Kaur said that Sikh pilgrims needing hospitalisation "will be treated free of cost at an SGPC-run hospital."