Coronavirus: 647 positive cases reported over last two days linked to Tablighi Jamaat meet

Almost 650 Covid-19 cases reported in the last two days are connected to the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in the national capital, the government said on Friday.

"647 coronavirus positive cases found in last two days are linked to Tablighi Jamaat congregation," said Lav Agarwal, a senior official in the health ministry. That amount to 28% of the total number of cases in India. These cases are fanned out across 14 states.

Not less than a dozen deaths have been associated to the same congregation.

Several hundred members from India and other countries took part in the congregation at Markaz Nizamuddin, held in March in blatant disregard of warnings over SARS-CoV-2. It is believed that 9,000 people took part in the religious gathering.

A great number of members then journeyed across the country in defiance of guidelines of social distancing, propelling the upswing of the highly contagious pathogen.

The state governments have also stepped up the search for hundreds more associated to the Markaz Nizamuddin.

Among the states worst hit is Tamil Nadu, where 365 of 411 coronavirus cases have been associated to the Tabligh meet. In the national capital, 259 of those who have coronavirus took part in the meet.

In Uttar Pradesh, of 172 fresh positive cases reported today, 42 had attended the event. Of the 140 Covid-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh, 108 have been associated to the meet. 23 cases have surfaced in the state of Rajasthan.

Concerns about the Tablighi gathering cropped up around 18th March after Indonesian Tablighi member tested positive in Telangana. A few days later, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in a letter, sent details of the group members to all states and ordered them to track and test them.

Cases connected to the Tablighi event have also been reported from Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar and Himachal Pradesh.

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