In a shocking revelation, the Health Ministry has stated nearly 30% i.e 4291 cases of the total 14,378 coronavirus cases were caused due to Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi by Tablighi Jamaat.
Speaking at a press conference, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said, out of total 14,378 cases, 4291 (29.8%) cases are related to Nizamuddin Markaz cluster from a ‘single source’ and affected at least 23 states and union territories.
He also added that 84% cases in Tamil Nadu, 63% cases in Delhi, 79% cases in Telangana, 59% cases in Uttar Pradesh and 61% cases in Andhra Pradesh are related to the event.
#WATCH Out of total 14378 cases, 4291 (29.8%) cases are related to Nizamuddin Markaz cluster from single source&affected 23 States&UTs. 84% cases in TN, 63% cases in Delhi, 79% cases in Telangana, 59% cases in UP & 61% in Andhra Pradesh are related to the event: Health Ministry pic.twitter.com/UMsz1hx3tz
— ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2020
During the routine media briefing on coronavirus, the Health Ministry said that 75.3 per cent of the coronavirus deaths in India have been recorded in those who are 60 years of age and above.
“A positive trend has been noted in 47 districts across 23 states. No positive cases has been reported in the last 28 days in Mahe of Puducherry, and Kodagu of Karnataka,” said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry
“In 45 other districts, no new positive cases have been reported in last 14 days,” he added.
Coronavirus in India and the Tablighi Jamaat
India’s tally as of Saturday morning stood at 14,378, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Of these, 11,906 people are being treated while 480 have died. As many as 1,991 people have recovered so far.
The Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which took place in Nizamuddin Markaz in the first half of March, has become the mega-spreader of coronavirus in India, as many as more than one-third cases in India are linked to that event now. The Muslims who had attended the event, and their family members and those who came into contact with them are testing positive regularly, contributing the increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country.
The Tablighi Jamaat event was not only attended by Indian Islamic clerics but also foreign nationals. The alarm bells should have started ringing when seven Indonesian nationals associated with the organization tested positive for the Wuhan Coronavirus in Telangana after travelling from Delhi to Karimnagar for an ijtema. However, it was only later that the full scope of the Tablighi Jamaat’s contribution to the spreading of the virus would become prominent.
By the 4th of April, of the 25 confirmed cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus in Assam, at least 24 were directly linked to the religious congregation at Markaz Nizamuddin between the 13th and 15th of March. The state had not reported any case of the virus prior to that. 27 people infected in Odisha by the same date were linked to the same event. The West Bengal government announced that 225 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts had been placed under quarantine. Again, by the same date, 3 people in Uttarakhand had tested positive for COVID-19.
