Tablighi Jamaat Responsible For 30% Total Coronavirus Cases In India: Health Ministry

The Tablighi Jamaat congregation organized in Nizamuddin Markaz in the first half of March has become the mega-spreader of Coronavirus in India. As many as more than one-third cases in India are linked to that event now

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New Delhi: In a shocking revelation, the Health Ministry has stated nearly 30% i.e 4291 cases of the total 14,378 Coronavirus cases were caused due to the Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi by Tablighi Jamaat. Speaking at a press conference, Joint Secretary in the Health Ministry Lav Agarwal said on Saturday said 4,291 or about 30% of Coronavirus cases in the country have been traced to Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi out of 14,378 cases in the country. In Delhi, 63% of the reported 1,707 cases are linked to the same gathering. Nearly 40,000 people related to Delhi's Nizamuddin event have already been quarantined. The total number of confirmed cases in India is 14,378, 1,991 have been cured and 480 people have succumbed to the disease. There are 11,906 active cases in the country. The mortality rate due to COVID-19 is 3.3%. Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary Health Ministry, said that 4,291 Coronavirus cases are epidemiologically linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz case. These cases are spread across 23 states and Union Territories, which include most of the high degree burden cases. He added that 84% of cases in Tamil Nadu, 63% cases in Delhi, 79% cases in Telangana, 59% cases in Uttar Pradesh and 61% cases in Andhra Pradesh are related to the event. Agarwal said, "If lockdown and social distancing norms are not followed, then the entire country would have to face the consequences". The country in the last 24 hours saw 991 fresh COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths. He also added that 47 districts in 23 states have shown positive trends in the fight against the Coronavirus outbreak in the country. One district each in Puducherry and Karnataka has not reported a positive Coronavirus yet along with 22 new districts, split across various states, have also not reported new cases in the last 14 days. The health ministry official also added that the RT-PCR test is the standard frontline test for COVID-19 diagnosis and the rapid antibody test to be used for surveillance in hotspots. The Tablighi Jamaat congregation organized in Nizamuddin Markaz in the first half of March has become the mega-spreader of Coronavirus in India. As many as more than one-third cases in India are linked to that event now. The Muslims who had attended the event, and their family members and those who came into contact with them are testing positive constantly. This is resulting in an increase in the number of Coronavirus cases in the country.