Assam seeks list of Nizamuddin returnees from mosques; COVID- 19 cases rise to 251
GUWAHATI: Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday asked mosques to submit the names of people in their areas who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in New Delhi that resulted in the sudden spike in COVID 19 cases across many states, and warned of action if they do not do so by Sunday. The number of COVID 19 afflicted people in Assam, meanwhile, rose to 25, with several of them linked to the Tablighi event in Nizamuddin.
"I humbly request the imams and amirs of all mosques to give the list of people who had gone from their respective areas to attend the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin by tomorrow or else the government will have to take action," the minister told a press conference here.
All coronavirus positive patients in the state, except for one, are linked to the religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin West last month, he said. "A new COVID-19 case was reported from North Lakhimpur district on Saturday and the person had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation," the minister tweeted earlier in the day.
"Nizamuddin is an evolving story with 24 cases having connection with the congregation but we have not got the desired cooperation from the mosques," he said.
Altogether 1,529 samples have been tested so far with 812 of them having links to the Nizamuddin event, he said.
The test results of 636 people were negative but they are currently under quarantine, the minister said, adding they will undergo further tests. Test results of 152 are still awaited, Sarma said.
The number of coronavirus positive cases is swelling as the disease is spreading due to the infection caused by Nizamuddin returnees "from Silchar in Barak Valley to Lakhimpur in upper Assam, Morigaon in central Assam to Kamrup and Nalbari in lower Assam", the minister said. Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta urged the returnees of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation, who are still hiding in the state, to report to the health authorities by Sunday.
"Otherwise police will take stern action against them in the greater interest of stopping the spread of COVID 19," the state police chief said.