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Odisha CM urges Jamaat attendees to come forward and get tested for Covid-19
The government has so far identified 68 persons from Odisha who had attended the congregation at Nizamuddin of which 28 returned while another 40 are still in quarantine in States like Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
A day after Odisha recorded a four-fold jump in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Saturday appealed to all who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin to come forward and get tested for coronavirus.
“Corona is currently the biggest threat to the human race and to beat it we all need to come together to beat it,” said Patnaik in a written appeal, urging those who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation to come forward for testing for Coronavirus within next 24 hours. “Only through awareness we can break the chain of coronavirus. While there is no need to panic but we do need to be careful. Your cooperation will for the betterment of your own family and the human race.”
“I request all the persons from Odisha who attended the event in Nizamuddin to immediately contact toll-free number 104, consult doctors and come forward for corona test within 24 hours,” he added.
The government has so far identified 68 persons from Odisha who had attended the congregation at Nizamuddin of which 28 returned while another 40 are still in quarantine in States like Bengal, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. But government officials believe the numbers may be more as some of them may have clammed up fearing social ostracization.
Odisha has so far had 20 confirmed Covid-19 patients of whom two have been cured and discharged from hospital. Of the 18 active cases, three had attended the Nizamuddin event. State capital Bhubaneswar accounted for 14 of the total cases, making the state capital virtually a hot spot for the disease in the state. Three cases were reported from Bhadrak district and one each from Cuttack, Jajpur and Puri, officials said.
On Friday, the state government sealed the entry and exit points of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Bhadrak and asked people to remain indoors till Sunday night to contain the spread of the virus. The government also warned people of forced quarantine if they came out on the roads defying the shutdown orders.
On Saturday, the government sealed off Brahmabarada village in Jajpur district where a world religious conference was held between February 29 and March 3.
Officials said Maulana Muhammad Saad Kandhalvi, the national chief of Tablighi Jamaat (now untraceable) had visited Brahmabarada village in Jajpur district of Odisha along with 40 others from Nizamuddin between February 29 and March 3 to address a Biswa Ijtema (religious gathering). The meeting was attended by at least 50 jamaats from different states of the country.
With inputs from agencies.
