Three more patients have died in Telangana due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the state announced late on Wednesday night, linking all these cases to a religious gathering in the national capital’s Nizamuddin area.
Thirty new cases were detected in the southern state in a 24-hour period on Wednesday. The government said all these could be traced back to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at the Islamic missionary group’s Delhi headquarters that has emerged as a hot spot of Covid-19 infections. The state also said it was planning to conduct diagnostic tests on over 300 of its residents who attended the event.
According to data from states, over 300 confirmed cases and 11 deaths, including the three in Telangana on Wednesday, could be linked to the March gathering. Officials are scrambling to trace the footsteps of those who visited Jamaat’s six-storey headquarters, also known as Markaz, and then fanned out across the country.
Altogether, nine deaths have been reported in Telangana — all linked to the gathering.
The total number of infections in the state stand at 121, including 14 persons who have been discharged after recovery.
Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao briefed governor Tamilisai Soundarajan at the Raj Bhavan on the pandemic situation and also held a meeting with officials toll late in the night.
“All three who died and 30 people who tested positive on Wednesday are those who had been to Markaz at Nizamuddin in Delhi. The six who died earlier were also those who had gone to Markaz,” an official release from the chief minister’s office said.
“Initially, the virus spread among those who came from abroad, and through them it spread to others. They are all recovering. Many of them have been discharged. No case among them was serious. Nobody died. But the positive cases for the past few days involve those who went to Markaz,” it said.
The chief minister also appealed to the Markaz attendees, their family members and those who came in contact with them to undergo tests.
“Since the virus is spreading through those who went to Markaz, they all should undergo tests without failure,” he said.
ANDHRA REPORTS 67 POSITIVE CASES
The neighbouring Telugu state of Andhra Pradesh reported 67 positive cases in a span of 24 hours. Forty-three of them were reported between 9 pm on Tuesday and 9am on Wednesday.
According to a late-night bulletin on Wednesday, another 24 cases were reported during the day, taking the overall tally of positive cases in the state to 113. This includes two patients who have been discharged.
“…1085 persons attended the Delhi prayer meeting, and we have tracked and taken samples of 585. While 70 people tested positive, 500 results are yet to come and 21 people are yet to be traced,” Andhra chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy said.