Three who had attended Tablighi Jamaat event found Covid-19 positive in Gzb; UP sees 50 new cases in 24 hrs

Three more cases of the Sars-Cov-2 were confirmed in Ghaziabad on Friday. According to the district’s chief medical officer (CMO), all three had attended the Tablighi

Three more cases of the Sars-Cov-2 were confirmed in Ghaziabad on Friday. According to the district’s chief medical officer (CMO), all three had attended the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz event at Delhi’s Nizamuddin mid-March. They had been admitted to the isolation ward of Sanjay Nagar District Hospital after attendees of the religious event were traced and put under medical observation due to a coronavirus outbreak there.

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“Four of those who had attended the event were admitted to the Sanjay Nagar Hospital isolation ward and samples of three of them were found positive for Covid-19. All four are from the Masuri area and among those who were traced by the health department in a drive to identify those who attended religious congregations, including the one held at Nizamuddin,” Dr NK Gupta, CMO, said Friday evening.

On Thursday, another person who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz had tested positive for Covid-19. He had been lodged at the isolation ward of MMG District Hospital with five others. The officials, after he was declared positive, shifted the five others to a different facility.

“In all, we have 177 people who were traced and picked up by the health department, and who have attended various religious congregations in the recent past. Of these, four have tested positive for coronavirus so far in Ghaziabad. As on Friday, the tally of Covid-19 positive patients in Ghaziabad is 13, including a couple which had got their test done by a private lab. Two others had recovered and discharged from hospital,” he added.

“On Thursday, there were 121 positive cases but by Friday afternoon, the tally had reached 172. There has been a sudden increase of 51 cases in a day and 47 of them are people who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi. The 47 positive cases have come to light in 14 districts of UP, including Ghaziabad, Agra, Saharanpur, Shamli, Hapur, Meerut and Azamgarh, among others,” he added.

The state’s additional chief secretary (home) Awanish Awasthi said till Friday evening, at least 1,203 persons had been identified who had attended the Nizamuddin congregation and medical tests of 897 were conducted.

“Another 296 foreigners have been identified and 228 passports have been seized so far, as they were on tourist visas and are not allowed to participate in any religious activity or missionary works. Thirty five FIRs have so far also been filed under the Foreigners’ Act, Epidemic Act and Disaster Management Act,” Awasthi said during a press briefing at Lucknow on Friday.

“The increase in positive cases is a serious issue and we urge all those who attended the congregations to come forward for check up and testing, otherwise we will take strict legal action,” he added.