A whopping 60% (295 persons) out of the new 485 confirmed positive cases of Wuhan Coronavirus detected within a single day on Thursday had attended the Nizamuddin Markaz organised by the Tablighi Jamaat, reported The Times of India. The event was held between March 13 and March 15 and saw a footfall of around 3400 members. Even after the event, thousands of Jamaat members had continued to gather in the Nizamuddin Markaz Mosque in Delhi.
So far more than 2500 people have been infected in India while 70 patients have lost their lives. As of Thursday, Delhi reported 141 cases while Maharashtra reported 88 new cases most of them Jammat members. 129 of the 141 confirmed cases in Delhi are Jamaat members.
#Covid19 in India: Nearly 65% of 544 new all-India cases linked to #TablighiJamaat’s event in city
— The Times of India (@timesofindia) April 3, 2020
Delhi led the tally on Thursday with 129 of the total 141 confirmed cases being linked to the Tablighi meet.https://t.co/MjjWl0ltf8 pic.twitter.com/K6n0ljbR3W
The massive jump of cases in India is solely due to the Tablighi Jamaat members who had gathered in the Nizamuddin mosque despite government orders against mass-gatherings. The Jamaat members taking buses and trains to their respective localities all over India has resulted in a massive nation-wide spread within a span of few days. As per government reports, over 9000 Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their primary contacts have so far been quarantined.
North-Eastern state Assam, which had so far been untouched by the coronavirus, saw 16 positive cases in a single day, all of them were Tablighi Jamaat returnees. Tablighi members have also taken the coronavirus as far as Andaman Nicobar Islands and Arunachal Pradesh.
The Uttar Pradesh police have registered an FIR against six Tablighi Jamaat members for walking around the ward without their trousers on and making lewd gestures towards the nurses during their quarantine at MMG District Hospital in Ghaziabad. This incident of Tablighi Jamaat members misbehaving came after they were quarantined. The Chief Medical Officer of the hospital had earlier written a letter to the cops, informing about the criminal behaviour of the Jamaatis.
In what could be termed as a massive effort undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in coordination with states, until now, as many as 9000 Tablighi Jamaat workers and their primary contacts have been traced and placed in quarantine across the country in view of the coronavirus infection. Out of these 9000 people, 1306 are foreign nationals and the rest are Indians.
