In an unfortunate series of events, a 30-year-old groom passed away two days after his wedding and 95 others who attended the ceremony have tested positive for the virus.
The ceremony took place on June 15 at a Deehpali in Paliganj, Patna. The groom was a software engineer from Gurugram who had come home to get married.
The groom was reportedly unwell at the time of the wedding and was said to be showing symptoms of COVID-19. However, under family and societal pressure, he went ahead with the ceremony.
The family defied all norms of social distancing and guidelines. As according to the lockdown wedding restrictions, no more than 50 guests are allowed to attend the wedding.
On June 17, the groom passed away before he could reach Patna’s AIIMS and was cremated without being tested for COVID-19.
It was only after a few villagers informed the Patna district administrator about the groom’s death that a team of doctors and para-medics rushed to the village to collect samples of the guests who attended the wedding.
The samples of 15 of them were found to be positive for COVID-19. By Monday, there were more than 80 positive cases in the village. A health official confirmed:
Many of the people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are those who had attended the marriage ceremony.
The district administrator went on to mention that there was negligence and violation of guidelines by the family who chose to go ahead with the wedding despite the groom’s visible symptoms.
All images are representational, unless mentioned otherwise.
Feature image courtesy: Philippe Santini, flickr.