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Coronavirus in India: Wagah beating retreat ceremony suspended

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | ByHT Correspondent
Mar 07, 2020 07:52 PM IST

The restrictions were enforced after two residents of Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district tested positive for the virus in a preliminary test according to civil surgeon Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur Johal.

Coronavirus scare in India has led to the suspension of the famous beating retreat ceremony at Wagah border near Amritsar and the joint retreat ceremony near Bangladesh border in West Bengal after two new positive cases of infection surfaced in Amritsar on Saturday.

Punjab Police installed barricades 2-km ahead of Attari-Wagah border to stop tourists heading to witness the beating the retreat ceremony on Saturday.

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“Beating retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah border has been suspended till further orders, in view of coronavirus in Punjab,” Attari police post in-charge Narain Jeet was quoted as saying by ANI in Amritsar.

The restrictions were enforced after two residents of Punjab’s Hoshiarpur district tested positive for the virus in a preliminary test according to civil surgeon Dr. Prabhdeep Kaur Johal.

The infected men had returned from Italy on March 3 and were admitted to the isolation ward of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar after they showed symptoms on their arrival at the Amritsar International airport.

Final confirmation on their status will be available by the evening after test results of their samples arrive from NIV Pune, said officials.

“Their samples have been sent for the second confirmation test, the results of which will be out by Saturday evening. This is done to cross-check the preliminary findings,” Dr Johal added.

Another tourist hotspot in Amritsar, Jallianwala Bagh is already closed till April 12 due to ongoing renovation of the complex, however, the adjoining heritage area was teeming with holidaymakers and tourists on Saturday.

In West Bengal, the Border Security Force (BSF), North Bengal Frontier put out notices on Saturday announcing restriction on civilians watching the joint retreat between the BSF and the Bangladesh Guards Bangladesh (BGB) at the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Fulbari.

“Entry is prohibited for the visitor to watch the ICP parade due to Corona Virus,” the notice writing in Bengali and English said.

The Punjab Government had clarified on Friday night that the situation was under control and coronavirus had not been declared an epidemic in the state.

As many as 52 testing labs have been commissioned across India, including two in Delhi to test for coronavirus.

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