Haryana's coronavirus tally climbs by 33 to 129

With 33 more people testing positive for coronavirus, the number of cases in Haryana rose to 129 on Tuesday, the state health department said.

The total of 129 includes 17 patients who were discharged after they recovered and two deaths. There are 110 active cases in the state, it said.

Of the 33 fresh cases reported on Tuesday, 23 are from Nuh district, seven from Faridabad, two from Gurugram and one from Jind, the health department said in its evening bulletin.

Ten foreign nationals -- six from Sri Lanka, and one each from Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia and South Africa -- and 50 people from other states of India are among the 129 cases reported in Haryana, it stated.

State Health Minister Anil Vij maintained that the spike in the number of COVID-19 cases is due to many Tablighi Jamaat members testing positive for the disease.

Vij, who also holds the home portfolio, said 1,526 Tablighi Jamaat members, including 107 foreigners, have been tracked down in the state so far.

"Tablighi Jamaat members constitute a sizeable chunk of the total active cases in the state," he said.

So far samples of nearly 900 Jamaat members out of 1,526 have been collected and all will be tested. A majority of those who entered the state before the lockdown have been traced to Nuh district, he added.

Vij again warned all Tablighi Jamaat members who may still be hiding in the state to report to the concerned district administration by 5 pm on Wednesday, failing which strict action will be taken against them as per law.

"I have already asked that samples of all Tablighi Jamaat members be sent for testing. Once we have all the reports in the next two-three days, we should be able to assess the situation. When we know the exact number of positive cases among them, then we will find out who all they came in contact with and where they stayed so that we can act accordingly," he said.

"I am absolutely confident that we will be able to manage things," he said.