Coronavirus outbreak: 32 from Bhopal who attended Jamaat meet quarantined in Delhi

All 32 people from Bhopal, who attended a religious congregation at Nizamuddin in Delhi, that has become a key source for the spread of COVID-19 in the country, have been quarantined in the national capital itself, an official said on Tuesday.

The mega gathering at Markaz Nizamuddin, the Delhi headquarters of the Tabligh-e-Jamaat, was held earlier this month and has emerged as a key source of the spread of the deadly infection.

"All 32 people from Bhopal, who had gone to Delhi to attend the gathering at Tabligh-e-Jamaat's Markaz, have not returned to the state capital. They have been quarantined in Delhi itself, Bhopal district collector Tarun Pithode said.

Besides, 55 Jamaat members who have come to Bhopal from abroad underwent health examination and none of them were found to be affected by any disease (including coronavirus)," he said.

Samples of all those who came in contact with them were also collected and sent for testing, Pithode said.

All Jamaatis have completed 21-day self-isolation and none of them were found affected by any kind of disease, he said. There is no need for the people of Bhopal to panic as all of them are under observation of the local administration and the health department, he added.

Earlier, a senior official said the Madhya Pradesh government has identified 82 of the 107 people from the state who attended the religious congregation.

He did not disclose the exact number of people who have been quarantined.

The Delhi government on Tuesday said 24 people, who took part in the congregation, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. People from across the country had taken part in the mega meet.

After the matter came to light, the Centre and the Delhi government swung into action to trace people who attended the congregation. Six people from Telangana and one from Jammu and Kashmir, who attended the event, died due to coronavirus.

(Picture credit: PTI)