The event held at a mosque in DelhiĄ¯s Nizamuddin area has turned out to be quite a nightmare for the authorities as well as the people residing in that area. A religious congregation of 2000 people at a mosque has so far thrown up several coronavirus cases. Six people who returned to Telangana after the event have died from the virus and positive cases are reported from at least five states including J&K, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
It is nothing short of a ticking time bomb.
The suspected outbreak was discovered on March 30 as it emerged that thousands of people had attended a large congregation in Delhi held on March 13-15 at a markaz in Nizamuddin. The area was cordoned off on Monday and at least 200 people were taken to different hospitals in Delhi. The event was also attended by foreigners and many others hid their travel history.
Early this morning, the Markaz Nizamuddin - the Delhi headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat -- was sealed and 850 people moved out in buses are quarantined in different parts of the city.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday ordered a police case against the mosque administration over negligence that has endangered hundreds of lives.
Ignoring all social distancing rules to avoid the deadly coronavirus, hundreds of those who attended the congregation had been staying? in the 100-year-old mosque complex, which has a six-floor dormitory since a two-day gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat from March 13 to 15.
The gathering, which featured sermons, was attended by Tablighi members from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia. Members had also come from Afghanistan, Algeria, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, Fiji, France and Kuwait.
Six people who gathered there, passed away in Telangana while another person died in Srinagar.
The Telangana Chief Minister's Office said in a tweet, "Six people from Telangana who attended a religious congregation at Markaz in Nizamuddin area of New Delhi from March 13-15 succumbed after they contracted coronavirus. Two died in Gandhi Hospital while one each died in Apollo Hospital, Global Hospital, Nizamabad and Gadwal."
Search has been intensified to locate who all returned to the state after the event and the contact trail.
27 tested positive for coronavirus?in Delhi have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain informed today.
Talking to reporters at his residence, he said that 1,033 people have been shifted to various places.
The minister said, "700 people who attended this congregation have been quarantined while around 335 people have been admitted to hospitals."
Jain said screening of all those who participated in the event is being conducted by the government.
On March 30, an FIR had been ordered against the Maulana who was leading the congregation at Markaj (Centre) in West Nizamuddin in South Delhi.