Published 06:09 IST, April 1st 2020
34 from Noida who attended Nizamuddin Markaz home quarantined, shows no COVID-19 symptoms yet
Thirty-four Gautam Buddh Nagar residents, who have shown no symptoms of coronavirus yet, have been home quarantined as a precautionary measure
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Thirty-four Gautam Buddh Nagar residents, who have shown no symptoms of coronavirus yet, have been home quarantined as a precautionary measure after it was found that they had attended Tablighi Jamaat twice in Delhi's Nizamuddin, police said on Tuesday.
The Tabligh-e-Jamaat's Markaz (centre) in Nizamuddin West has emerged as a coronavirus hotspot as 24 people who attended a religious congregation there from March 1-15 have tested positive for COVID-19.
"We received information about the Tablighi Jamaat but found that no one from the district had participated in it. However, with a view to ensure precaution, we searched and found that some people from Gautam Buddh Nagar went there earlier in March (this year) and in December last year," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Ashutosh Dwivedi said in a statement issued late on Tuesday night.
"Eleven people from Dadri police station area had been there on December 7, while 10 from Phase 2, six from Ecotech 3 and 17 from Dankaur went there on March 12," he said. Dwivedi said all these people have been examined for COVID-19 by the health department here but none of them have showed any symptoms so far.
"The health department has asked them to stay home quarantined for some time. It has already been more than 14 days since they attended the congregation and none of them has shown any sign of coronavirus. However, the health department is alert and monitoring them," the officer said. Gautam Buddh Nagar in western Uttar Pradesh, adjoining Delhi, has already become a hotspot for coronavirus with 38 cases so far, according to official figures.
What is the Nizamuddin COVID-19 scare?
On Monday, sources reported that a religious programme was organised at Tablighi Jamaat's headquarters Markaz Nizamuddin mosque between 13-15 March which had over 300 foreign attendees from Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan apart from hundreds from several states in India. After attending the meeting, prior to the nationwide lockdown, all these attendees returned to several parts of the country, possibly spreading the COVID-19 virus.
On Sunday, around 50-70 people, who were hiding in a mosque, were taken to LNJP hospital as they were all COVID-19 suspects – 24 have tested positive. The mosque has claimed that while they were letting small groups of attendees leave from the venue prior to the Janta Curfew, several were stuck in the area – which has now been entirely quarantined – owing to the nationwide lockdown.
Meanwhile, a case was registered by the Delhi Police against Maulana Saad and other officials of Tablighi Jamaat for violating the restriction pertaining to a religious gathering. Sections under the Epidemic Disease Act,1897 and Section 269, 270, 271 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code have been invoked. In the FIR, it has been stated that the congregation failed to take safety measures for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
(with PTI inputs)
06:09 IST, April 1st 2020