An Indian groom has died from COVID-19 after infecting over 100 of his wedding guests who came to celebrate his big day with him.
The groom, who was a 30-year-old software engineer, developed diarrhoea and a high fever before his June 15 wedding which was attended by more than 360 guests according to The Hindustan Times.
The report claims his family forced him to take painkillers and go through with the ceremony, going against his wishes to postpone the wedding because of his spiking fever.
Two days later his condition took a turn for the worse and he died on the way to a hospital, but his body was cremated without being tested for the virus.
His close family members were tested for Covid-19 on June 19 and were confirmed to be infected.
The huge number sparked a desperate bid to prevent the spread of the disease by local health authorities, who set up a camp where samples were taken from the other attendees. Of those, 86 have tested positive, officials said on Tuesday. The bride was not among that number.
“Even though he was feeling unwell by June 14 and wanted the wedding postponed, family members from both sides advised against it, citing huge financial losses if the arrangements had to be canceled,” a relative said to Hindustan Times.
Another relative, who tested negative, said no one suspected that the groom had COVID-19.
“As rural areas are almost COVID-free, we were relaxed,”
“By the day of the wedding, he was running a high temperature, raising some concerns among his relatives, who prayed that it was not COVID infection,” the relative said.
“He performed all the pre-wedding functions after taking Paracetamol,” the relative added.
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Community official Chiranjeev Pandey said: “Our first priority now is to prevent the infection and break the chain. We have sealed parts of the neighboring Meetha Kuan, Khagari and some parts of the sub-urban marketplace of Paliganj.”