Two more test coronavirus positive in Chhattisgarh; tally 33

Two more people, including a woman, tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday in Korba district of Chhattisgarh, taking the number of such cases in the state to 33, officials said.

Both cases were reported from Katghora town, which has emerged as the top COVID-19 hotspot in the state. The town, located around 200 km from the state capital Raipur, accounts for 24 of the 33 infections detected so far in the state. Two people, including a woman, from the Purani Basti area of the town tested positive for coronavirus, Katghora''s Sub-Divisional Magistrate Suryakiran Tiwari said.

They are being shifted to AIIMS Raipur for treatment, she said. The duo hails from the same area from where so far 21 people, who came in contact with 16 Tablighi Jamaat members staying at a mosque in the locality, tested positive for the infection, she said. The town has been sealed and samples of people residing in the affected area are being collected for testing, Tiwari added.

Earlier, a 16-year-old boy from the 16-member Tablighi Jamaat group, which stayed in the mosque of Purani Basti, tested positive for coronavirus on April 4. After this, 21 others from the same area tested positive during the past one week.

According to the police, people of the area had offered prayers and held mass feast with this Jamaat group which reached Katghora from Maharashtra last month. So far, 10 people from the state have been discharged after recovering from the infection. With two fresh infections, the number of active cases stood at 23.

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