Published 18:28 IST, March 31st 2020

17 new COVID-19 cases in AP, govt says majority share links with Markaz Nizamuddin event

Andhra Pradesh Government announced that 17 new cases of COVID-19 were reported from the state on Tuesday with most tracing links to the Tablighi Jamaat event.

India News
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The Andhra Pradesh Government announced that 17 new cases of COVID-19 were reported from the state on Tuesday with most tracing links to the Tablighi Jamaat event held in Nizamuddin Markaz earlier this month. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy chaired a review meeting over the same directing officials to track down the fellow travellers. The Chief Minister has also appealed to the Nizamuddin travellers and their contact persons to voluntarily come forward and take treatment.

Read: Yogi Adityanath Directs Immediate Tracing Of Those Who Attended Nizamuddin Markaz

In a major health scare, Nizamuddin emerged as a hotspot of COVID-19 after a religious meeting was held at Markaz by the Markaz Nizamuddin earlier this month. Several COVID-19 positive cases have been found among those who attended the gathering, with many states witnessing a peak in the cases sharing links with attendees of the event. Apart from that more than 2,000 delegates from countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia also attended the event.

Meanwhile, the Markaz Nizamuddin, in its statement, has claimed that it had discontinued the religious program as soon as PM Modi made the announcement about the Janta Curfew, however, its attendees were stuck due to discontinuation of the transport services amid the lockdown.

Read: 'Telangana Still Enumerating Nizamuddin Attendees' Says Minister KTR As 300 Hospitalised

AP Govt tracking links

The Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government has also asked officials to gather information from the event organizers of the Tablighi Jamaat along with police officials and the railway department as they have travelled in the train, in a bid to track down all possible links through contact mapping.

The govt has also instructed the health and police department to coordinate and identify the fellow travellers, test them, and shift to quarantine centers in case of any symptoms. The Chief Minister has further ordered the officials to ensure that there should be no public gatherings at any cost and strictly implement the relaxation time in urban and rural areas as per the protocol.