Seven people, who came in contact with 16 Tablighi Jamaat members staying at a mosque in Katghora town of Chhattisgarh’s Korba district, have tested positive for the coronavirus disease, taking the number of Covid-19 cases in the state to 25, officials said on Sunday.
The rise in numbers come a day after Chhattisgarh’s chief minister Bhupesh Baghel suggested extending the restrictions on the inter-state road, air and railway traffic to curb the spread of Covid-19 and said states should be allowed to carry out economic activities during the lockdown period during a video conference call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bhupesh Baghel also demanded an early economic package from the Centre to boost the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector.
Baghel was among the chief ministers who attended Prime Minister Modi’s video conference to discuss whether to extend the 21-day country-wide lockdown beyond next week.
The Prime Minister held the video conference with chief ministers to take feedback on whether the ongoing lockdown is extended after April 14 to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection.
“Some of these people met the 16 Tablighi Jamaat members who were staying at a mosque in Purani Basti locality and then spread it (Covid-19) to others. They are from a nearby locality and tested positive late on Saturday night,” Dipanshu Kabra, Bilaspur’s inspector general of police, said while speaking to HT.
“These seven people who tested positive on Saturday night are not Jamaatis,” Kabra said.
A 16-year-old boy from this Jamaat group had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 4, after which another eight others in the area got infected, he added.
Dr Karan Peepre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences’ medical superintendent, said that all of the seven people tested positive for coronavirus late on Saturday night and were brought to AIIMS Raipur.
“They are stable and their health is good,” Peepre added.
Katghora, around 200km from state capital Raipur, has been sealed and samples of all people in the area are being taken for screening for Covid-19.
Twenty-five people have tested positive for the infection in Chhattisgarh so far, out of which 10 have recovered and discharged from hospitals.
The Chhattisgarh government has made wearing face masks mandatory in public places in a bid to contain the spread of the coronavirus infection. The health and family welfare department has warned of legal action against those not wearing masks in public places.