Nine from Puducherry who attended Tablighi Jamaat event identified, urge others to come forward: V Narayanasamy

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy on Wednesday said that his administration had identified 9 people from the Union Territory who had attended the religious gathering at Markaz building in Delhi's Nizamuddin area and urged others to come forward and report to the authorities themselves.

"We have identified 6 people from Puducherry and 3 from Karaikal who had attended Tablighi Jamaat meeting in Delhi. Their samples have been taken and sent for tests. I appeal to all other people who had attended the meeting to come forward and identify themselves," Narayanasamy said.

The gatherings organised by the Tablighi Jamaat at the Markaz building in Nizamuddin came into the spotlight after multiple coronavirus cases were confirmed amongst those who attended the event held in March.

Twenty-four cases were reported from the national capital alone, apart from Telangana, the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands amongst others.

The Puducherry Chief Minister further said, "In the light of coronavirus pandemic, the Government of Puducherry has decided to ask landlords to not demand rent from tenants for 3 months."

The total number of coronavirus cases in India has risen to 1,637 after 240 new cases were reported in the country, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on Wednesday.