This archive report was first published on 2 July 2020.
On June 15, a wedding took place in Paliganj, Bihar, which would turn out to be a COVID-19 hotspot. The groom, who had traveled from Gurgaon, Haryana, was already unwell before the ceremony.
According to Surendra Kumar, the district official in Paliganj, the groom's condition worsened after the wedding, and he was taken to a local hospital, where he collapsed and was declared dead on arrival.
Investigations are ongoing to determine how many people attended the wedding and to trace their contacts. The family had not informed anyone about the groom's poor health, and he was not tested for COVID-19 before the wedding.
As of now, 80 people linked to the ceremony have tested positive for COVID-19, and they have been taken to a local treatment center. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Bihar state has reached 10,249, with 70 deaths, according to India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
India has recorded 604,641 cases of coronavirus and 17,834 deaths, according to the ministry. The government has opened one of the largest hospitals in the world, the Sardar Patel COVID Care Centre in New Delhi, to help fight the pandemic.
