Coronavirus: Timeline Of Tablighi Jamaat Workers Violating Countrywide Lockdown

On march 16, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that no religious, social, political gatherings of more than 50 people are allowed in Delhi till March 31in view of coronavirus. However, people at the Markaz continue to stay there

New Delhi: People who showed coronavirus symptoms being taken to various hospitals from Nizamuddin area in New Delhi, Monday, March 30, 2020. The police took around 200 such people to the hospital as they participated in a religious congregation at a mosque, few days back. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary) (PTI30-03-2020_000229B)

New Delhi: After 24 people who had attended a Tablighi Jamaat event at the Jamaat's headquarters in Delhi's Nizamuddin, the authorities across India have launched a massive search for hundreds of people who attended the event. Here's a timeline of the event:

• March 13: 3,400 people come together to be part of the religious gathering at the Nizamuddin Markaz
• March 16: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that no religious, social, political gatherings of more than 50 people are allowed in Delhi till March 31in view of coronavirus. However, people at the Markaz continue to stay there
• March 20: 10 Indonesians who attended the gathering here are tested positive in Telangana
• March 22: Janta curfew is announced
• March 23: 1500 people vacate the Markaz
• March 24: PM announces nationwide lockdown
• March 25: Around 1,000 people remain at the Markaz. Jamaat officials go to the SDM's office to file an application for permission to transfer its workers.
• March 26: An Indian preacher who attended the gathering here is tested positive and dies in Srinagar
• March 26: SDM visits the Markaz and calls the Jamaat officials for a meeting with the DM
• March 27: 6 coronavirus suspects are taken away from the Markaz for a medical checkup and are later put in a quarantine facility in Jhajjar, Haryana
• March 28: SDM and the WHO team visit the Markaz and 33 people who were taken for medical checkup are kept in the isolation ward at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Hospital.
• March 28: ACP (of Lajpat Nagar) sends a notice to the Markaz to vacate
• March 29: Markaz officials respond to the ACP's letter saying no new people were allowed to gather post nationwide lockdown announcement. The current gathering had started much before lockdown and that the PM in his lockdown speech said "jo jahaan hai vahin rahe".(stay put where ever you are)
• From the night of March 29: Police and health authorities start taking out people from the Markaz and sending them to hospitals and quarantine facilities. Till now around 1,300 people have been evacuated from Nizamuddin Markaz and around 200 to 300 people yet to evacuate from here.
• March 31: 1,548 people have been evacuated from Nizamudddin markaz till the evening.