Those who arrived to attend Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin being evacuated from Nizamuddin Markaz on Tuesday. (Photo: Sabu Scaria)
Thiruvananthapuram: Observation has been made stricter in Kerala after coronavirus was confirmed in many persons from different parts of the country who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation held at Nizamuddin in Delhi. It is learnt that 270 people from Kerala had taken part in the two congregations held in Nizamuddin.
About 100 persons who attended the first congregation returned to Kerala and the police handed over the details of about 70 of them to the government and health department. All of them are home-quarantined. The 170 people who took part in the second congregation have not returned yet. The police collected their names and phone numbers.
Meanwhile, a person who participated in the Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation held in Malaysia also returned to Kerala. As many foreigners who participated in this congregation were tested positive for coronavirus, the Keralite also is under observation.
Precautions taken
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the government has collected the details of those who took part from the state in recent religious congregations in Nizamuddin and Malaysia and it needs to be examined if they have any health issues.
"Police have already made detailed examination in this regard. The list of participants have been given through respective district collectors. Necessary precautions will be made in the concerned districts in this regard," the chief minister said.
The government has the exact number of participants and the details of the districts they are hailing from, he said. Meanwhile, Pathanamthitta police said they have identified 6 persons in the district in connection with the Nizamuddin congregation.
"Three persons had taken part in the congregation, of them one had already died. One person is in quarantine in the district while the other is located now in Thiruvananrhapuram," a senior police official said. The others are not participants but had travelled to Delhi along with them, he said.
In the nearby Alappuzha district, three persons have been identified in connection with the congregation, police said.
"They have been in quarantine and under the surveillance of the health department since they have reached back the state from Delhi," another official said.
Number of people who took part in first congregation in Delhi:
- Thiruvananthapuram - 5
- Kollam - 2
- Pathanamthitta - 1
- Alappuzha - 3
- Kottayam - 6
- Idukki - 4
- Ernakulam - 2
- Thrissur - 2
- Palakkad - 2
- Malappuram - 8
- Wayanad - 2
- Kozhikode - 3
- Kannur - 10
- Kasaragod - 19
As many people from within the country and abroad were quarantined, the Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid at Nizamuddin in South Delhi where the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was held has been evacuated.
About 1000 people were staying in the six-storey building of the Nizamuddin Markaz which is the international headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat. Among them 300 people are quarantined in the mosque itself and others are quarantined in hospitals.
According to unofficial figures, about 4000 people took part in the congregation held from March 13 to 15. As the virus-infected people from here came in contact with others, the list of quarantine will only be larger.
Ten people of various states who took part in the congregation have already died. Six of them were from Telangana and one each from Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A Filipino who died in Mumbai also participated in the congregation and was tested positive for the virus.
A Pathanamthitta native who participated in the congregation also died in Delhi, but he is not confirmed with the disease. 24 people in Delhi who tested positive for COVID-19 had taken part in the Tablighi Jamaat.
(With inputs from PTI)
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