JOIN USFirst coronavirus cases in 5 Rajasthan districts linked to Nizamuddin Markaz
Rajasthan is grappling with the coronavirus challenge posed by the return of Tablighi Jamaat members from their congregation in Delhi with cases reported from new areas being linked to them, officials said on Saturday.
As many as 41 people who returned to the state after attending the Tablighi Jamaat’s Nizamuddin Markaz, or their contacts, have tested positive for the virus.
The state has so far reported a total of 198 coronavirus positive cases, according to officials.
The cases related to Tablighi Jamaat were first reported in Tonk where four people, who had attended the event in mid-March, tested positive on Wednesday.
Coronavirus has now spread to 18 of the state’s 33 districts.
The first cases in five districts -- Tonk, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Dausa and Bikaner - were related to Jamaat returnees, the officials said.
“We have been able to trace 703 people related to the Jamaat so far. This includes both, who attended Delhi event or came in their contacts. The work to identify and trace more such people is continuously going on,” Umesh Mishra, ADG-Intelligence, Rajasthan Police, told PTI Saturday.
They have been home-quarantined or isolated in hospitals and the work of contact-tracing is underway, he added.
He said that 381 out of 703 were from other states and 10 were from Nepal.
The presence and movement of Jamaat people is high in the Shekhawati region (which comprises Churu, Jhunjhunu, Sikar and nearby areas), Alwar, Bharatpur and nearby areas which are dominated by the Meo community, and in Tonk, which has a sizeable Muslim population.
Apart from these areas, people from Jamaat have been traced in Hanumangarh, Ganganagar, Karauli, Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaipur and Dausa districts also.
As many as 166 of the 703 are those who came to Rajasthan after March 15.
Those who came to the state from Delhi after attending the congregation moved across places while preaching Islam. They came in contact with men, women as well as children.
“The initial challenge for us was Bhilwara. After that, cases from Ramganj in Jaipur suddenly increased. Now cases related to Tablighi Jamaat have become another challenge. Such cases started from Tonk where a curfew was already in place and intense screening and contact tracing was started” Chief Secretary DB Gupta said.
He said that survey and screening at other places, where positive cases are being reported, are being done by medical teams.
In Rajasthan, the maximum of positive cases (55) are from Jaipur, out of which13 are Tablighi Jamaat attendees. Most of the remaining cases are from Ramganj.
After the state capital, Bhilwara (27) and Jhunjhunu (15) reported the highest number of cases.
In Jhunjhunu, seven out of 15 were related to the Jamaat event.