More RT-PCR test reports are awaited and the trend shows that the number of infected persons in the Kumbh Mela Kshetra is likely to climb to 2,000.
Nirvani Ani Akhada president Mahant Dharmdas said that only the mela officer or the chief minister has the right to announce the "end of the Kumbh Mela".
Social distancing norms were violated openly by the seers when they and their followers descended the steps at Har ki Pairi to wade into the river.
Mela Inspector General Sanjay Gunjyal also said the religious event formally began on April 1 by which time the second wave of Covid was already raging in states like Maharashtra and Haryana.
The Juna Akhara, one of the largest sects of seers in the country, announced the end of its participation in the Kumbh Mela on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal that participation in the ongoing gathering in Haridwar be kept symbolic in view of the surge in coronavirus cases.
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