India near 2000 cases, deaths 59
Panic in Maha as Dharavi man dies
TNN Bureau. Updated: 4/2/2020 12:43:17 PM

NEW DELHI: In a sweeping nationwide hunt, authorities across states have identified more than 6,000 people who attended the Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat congregation, the biggest COVID-19 hotspot in India, as more than 450 fresh cases of infection emerged on Wednesday to take the tally over 1,900 with at least 59 deaths.
More than 5,000 of those identified to have attended the congregation have been quarantined, including in hospitals across states, while efforts are on to trace another 2,000 including in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
The list includes foreigners as well, while some of those identified by the state authorities are yet to return from Delhi to their respective native places.
Authorities attributed the big spike in the numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases largely to the Tablighi Jamaat, an orthodox Muslim society set up nearly 100 years ago by Deobandi Islamic scholar Maulana Muhammad Ilyas Khandhalawi as a religious reform movement and to spread the faith.
The latest Union Health Ministry update put the nationwide tally of the confirmed COVID-19 cases at 1,637, after 376 new cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, and the death count at 38. But figures announced by different states and union territories totalled 1,949 with at least 59 deaths.
The Ministry officials said cases have increased largely due to Tablighi Jamaat congregation, which took place in mid-March, and therefore technically it does not show a national trend. They urged people to follow guidelines during lockdown period and avoid congregations, including religious gatherings.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were among the places to report a large number of new cases. While more than 450 confirmed cases were reported by all states put together, they also reported at least 14 new deaths due to COVID-19.
In Delhi, the authorities said coronavirus cases have risen to 152, including 53 who attended the Nizamuddin congregation.
The number in Maharashtra increased by 33 to 335 on Wednesday, including 30 in Mumbai alone. The tally can increase further as nearly 5,000 quarantined persons are in the high-risk category, according to the state government. The state reported six deaths on Wednesday, taking the total to 16 -- the maximum in the country.
A 46-year-old resident of Dharavi area of Mumbai who had contracted coronavirus died on Wednesday evening, prompting the civic authorities to seal the building where he lived.
Densely-populated Dharavi is famous as one of the largest slums in Asia.
After he died at nearby government-run Sion Hospital, some 300 tenements in the building and around 30 shops were cordoned off by police.
The police faced stone-pelting as they tried to disperse a crowd that had gathered in the area after learning about the man's death, an official said.
In Delhi also, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said 2,361 people were evacuated from the place of the Nizamuddin congregation, out of which 617 have been admitted to hospitals for showing COVID-19 symptoms while the rest are quarantined.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said authorities are tracking mobile phones of people under quarantine to check their movement.
The Centre on Wednesday also asked all states and Union Territories to launch on a "war footing" the contact tracing of all participants of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin, which has emerged as the coronavirus hotspot.
In a video conference with chief secretaries and DGPs of all states and Union Territories (UTs), Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also asked them to take action against foreigners, who participated in the missionary activities of the Tablighi Jamaat, for violation of visa conditions.
At least 81 Tablighi Jamaat returnees are suspected to be in Bihar, out of which 30 have been identified, while Assam has now has 13 confirmed cases of the deadly virus infection all of whom had attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet.
Amid heightened efforts to contain the pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra will also hold a video conference with all chief ministers on Thursday during which issues such as ways to contain the spread of COVID-19, movement of migrants and contact tracing of Tablighi Jamat participants are likely to come up for discussion, sources said.
The availability of essential items will also be discussed during the conference in the wake of the ongoing nationwide lockdown, which entered the 8th day on Wednesday.
In the meantime, the armed forces have made available over 9,000 hospital beds and more than 8,500 doctors and support staff across the country to deal with the rising cases of coronavirus infection, while Railways has also converted some of its coaches into isolation wards.
India is also looking at South Korea, Germany and China for procurement of cutting-edge technology and adopting best practices being followed by them in successfully containing the spread of coronavirus amid looming risk of the country entering the community infection stage of the pandemic, officials said.
Fresh cases of infection reported on Wednesday included some doctors and a police constable as well.
More than 43,000 people have died due to COVID-19 worldwide so far since December, while more than 8.6 lakh infections have been reported so far. Nearly half of the world population is currently under partial or full lockdown, taking a big toll on the economy as well.


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