Tablighi Jamaat plays havoc in Northeast, 20 of 18 +ve cases came from Nizamuddin Markaz

March 2: Hundreds of people have tested positive for coronavirus and a nationwide manhunt is on for suspected cases after a large religious gathering at Delhi’s Nizamuddin has emerged as a virus hotspot with links to severalCOVID-19 deaths. The congregation, attended by people from across India as well as other countries, was later found to have been a coronavirus hotspot.

In comparision to other parts of the country, Northeast India was in a much better position till 30 March. But since 31 March, the Islamic religious congregation at Tablighi Jamaat started playing havoc in Northeast. The 1st case in Assam was reported from Badarpur (in Karimganj district) who came back from Nizamuddin Markaz and was undergoing treatment at Silchar Medical College & Hospital (SMCH). Within the next 24 hours, 15 more COVID-19 positive cases were reported from Assam taking the total tally to 16. Curiously, all of them came from Nizamuddin Markaz, the Delhi headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group. 117 people were still in hiding. Inspite of repeated appeals made by the state government to come forward and get quarantined, these people went underground.

On Thursday morning, Manipur reported its 2nd case, which has also Makaz connection. N.Biren Singh, Chief Minister of Tripura tweeted, “Very sad and alert,In Manipur too one more #COVIDー19 positive case who joined #TablighiJamaat congregation at #NizamuddinMarkaz . Now in Manipur #COVIDー19 positive are two . Some are under quarantine centres for observation. Update 12.33 am /April 2.” Earlier, a student with travel history to UK was found positive in the Imphal, Manipur, whose condition was now learnt to be stable. Apart from this case, all other 19 cases in Northeast has Markaz connection.

The next information came from Arunachal Pradesh. A 31-year-old man, who attended a congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West, tested positive for COVID-19 in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday, making it the first case of coronavirus in Arunachal Pradesh, health officials said. The swab sample of the man, a resident of Medo area in the district, was sent for testing to the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC) at Dibrugarh in Assam and the report came back as positive, Health Secretary P Prathiban said. The man attended the congregation in Nizamuddin on March 13.

In Mizoram, a 50-year-old pastor, who had recently returned from Amsterdam, tested positive for COVID-19 on March 25, 2020. He too does not have Nizamuddin connection. As such, apart from this case and one from Manipur, rest all 18 cases in Northeast are connected to Nizamuddin Markaz.

The sharp increase in the number of cases has been linked to the controversial religious gathering held by Islamic group Tablighi Jamaat at the Markaz Nizamuddin in south Delhi. Thousands defied social distancing protocol to visit and stay at the 100-year-old complex. Overall at least 7,600 Indians and 1,306 foreigners with links to the group have been identified so far. Testing and isolation of suspected patients has begun but the number could increase as states hunt for more members.