Shoppers shrug off pandemic, pollution ahead of India’s biggest festival

NEW DELHI AFP, 12 Nov, 2020 -  Crowds packed New Delhi markets on Thursday ahead of India’s biggest holiday of the year, shrugging off record coronavirus cases and toxic smog in the capital.   

Shoppers looking for food and last-minute gifts before the Diwali festival of lights said they were fed up with being cooped up, no matter the deadly threats around them.   

New Delhi recorded 8,600 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, the highest number since the pandemic started and 85 deaths, and experts said the teeming markets could easily become “super-spreaders”.   

India has reported nearly 8.7 million infections, the world’s second-highest caseload behind the United States, and there are fears that a Diwali surge could hit major cities across the country of 1.3 billion.   

Nearly a week of “hazardous” level air pollution has only added to health fears.   

Loudspeaker warnings to wear masks and maintain social distancing serenaded bargain hunters who packed the narrow lanes of Lajpat Nagar market, one of the busiest in the city of 20 million people. While the 128,000 recorded pandemic fatalities in India is among the world’s lowest death rates, experts worry that the number of cases -- currently about 47,000 a day -- will skyrocket in coming weeks.