Former king Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, 73, and his queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, 70, returned to Kathmandu on Sunday (April 18) after a week-long visit to India to celebrate Kumbh Mela. Confirming that the couple had tested positive, the former king's press secretary Phani Raj Pathak said on Tuesday: "They are in self-isolation at (their residence) Nirmal Niwas." Kumbh Mela attracts enormous crowds of Hindu devotees to take a ritual dip in the Ganges River. Health experts have warned that it could turn into a "super-spreader" event as pilgrims who have mostly ignored official advice to maintain distancing return to their towns and villages all across India and abroad.