Nagpur civic body to check 54 for Covid-19 who had close contact with Tablighi Jamaat
NAGPUR: The City Police and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) established and quarantined 54 individuals who may have come into touch with those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi earlier this month. Authorities have provided her with a list of 67 and the remaining 13 are being tracked.
While confirming this development on Wednesday, municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe said, “I appeal to everyone from the city who attended the meeting to notify the NMC through their control room numbers, apps or any official. Our department will be taking samples and getting Covid-19 tests completed. Not all 54 may have attended the meeting. “Government authorities are monitoring the movement of thousands of people who attended the meeting in late February and early March, and then dispersed to several parts of the country. There are those that are likely to bear the dreaded novel coronavirus. At least eight Muslim participants are dead—6 from Telangana, 1 from Tamil Nadu and New Delhi each.
In Yavatmal, 12 people had attended the event according to a release from the collector. Five of them came back while the others either travelled to other parts of the country or are in New Delhi alone. “All five have been confirmed and are now admitted here in the GMCH’s Isolation Ward,” reads the statement.
A senior police officer said the state government and the state director general of police (DGP) submitted the initial list of returned citizens from New Delhi. “These people were present at the same place as the Tablighi Jamaat on the occasion of the incident. Their numbers have been identified via the positions of the cell tower, and then sorted state and city wise, “he said.
There’s a misunderstanding about the number, though. A senior police official said the department only has 42 records. “While the others have been identified, two are untraceable. Thirty-nine of them were sent to the MLA hospital quarantine facility and nine were sent home in solitary confinement, “he said.
Just seven leaders from the city attended the international conference in New Delhi before returning on March 10 and 11, according to Abdul Bari Patel, secretary of the Tablighi Markaz party in Nagpur. They were part of the Nagpur-Chattisgarh Markaz 17-member delegates, who had a quota of 25 for the jodh (meet) where more than 1,000 people had gathered.
Patel told TOI one of the seven had fallen ill but Covid19 had no symptoms. “The member was admitted for urinary tract infection followed by pneumonia to Dr Aziz Khan’s hospital in the city. He was later also screened for coronavirus but the result was negative, “he said.
Bari said all the others are calm at the moment and have separated themselves. Three members had made a flight to Delhi while others were taking a train. On March 10, only one came back by flight while others reached Nagpur by train on March 11.
One foreign party of 8 from Myanmar arrived in Nagpur on March 6th, the seminary secretary said. Until going on to other parts of the country this group reported to Delhi HQ. Bari said everybody was screened, and they’re all fine.
Since February 28, five domestic jamaats, comprising 41 men and 5 women, have also been camping in the area. They had arrived from Delhi, Manipur and Jabalpur in different batches.
“They have no symptoms. All will get checked today, though. Mankapur’s jamaat has been moved to a rented flat while others are in Palloti Masjid, a madrasa in Mominpura, Darul Khal in Takia, and Azad Bunkar Colony’s local home, “he said.
The last arrived in the city on March 14 and were all trapped after the lockdown. Bari said the Markaz has sent full descriptions of everything to the city police special branch.
Visitors were also given a copy of government guidelines on social distancing and other measures in case someone falls ill. “We have asked them to diligently observe the norms,” Bari said.
