New Delhi, Mar 31: Delhi’s Nizamuddin area has emerged as the hotspot of coronavirus disease after several cases of Covid-19 emerged in people who were a part of a Tableeghi Jamaat in the area earlier this month.
Here’s a quick guide on the development:
According to reports, more than 2,000 delegates from countries like Indonesia and Malaysia attended the Tableeghi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West from March 1-15.
At least 37 people who were at the headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat have been infected by coronavirus. This includes 24 people who have tested positive since Sunday.
Those who attended the meeting at the Markaz were sent to Lok Nayak Hospital for coronavirus test on Monday night.
At least 100 people have been tested. The results are expected on Tuesday.
7 people who were at the congregation died from the infection in Hyderabad on Monday. Another person died in Srinagar.
The 2,000 people who were at the congregation stayed at the facility’s six-floor dormitory.
Over 250 were foreigners. They shared communal dining areas and consumed food that was cooked in a community kitchen.
The south Delhi neighbourhood was virtually sealed with the Delhi Police, CRPF personnel and medical teams reaching the locality on Sunday night.
Contact tracing has revealed that people from the gathering travelled to states such as Bihar, Telangana, Odisha and Karnataka. The initial coronavirus death in Jammu and Kashmir has also been traced to this gathering.
The Markaz, also known as Banglewali Masjid, is a six-storey building complex that can house up to 2,000 people.
It shares its wall with the Nizamuddin police station and is adjacent to the famous shrine of Khwaja Nizamuddin Auliya. The mosque adjoins Basti Nizamuddin, which has a population of over 25,000.
Delhi Police officers said beginning March 22 (the day of Janta Curfew) police teams stood outside the mosque and stopped people from gathering in the area.
Police said until March 22, people from abroad and other states continued to visit the mosque. Outsiders were completely stopped from March 22.
Joint commissioner of police (southern range) Devesh Srivastava said police are assisting World Health Organization and health department officials who are screening people in Nizamuddin, especially inside the mosque complex and sending them to quarantine.
Delhi has a total of 87 coronavirus cases. The Ministry of Health on Monday updated the number of Covid-19 cases in the country to 1,251.
There are 1,117 active Covid-19 cases in the country with Kerala contributing the highest number of cases with 202 patients.
A 21-day lockdown is in force in India as a measure to combat Covid-19 disease. India entered the seventh day of the 3-week lockdown on Tuesday.
