1,172 Tablighi Jamaat meet attendees identified in UP, 884 quarantined: Official

Uttar Pradesh has identified a total of 1,172 people of the state who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin in New Delhi last month and has traced and quarantined 884 of them.

The mid-March Islamic religious discourse was attended by thousands of Jamaat members, along with hundreds of foreigners -- many of them suspected coronavirus-positive -- and has triggered a nationwide scare of community spread of the virus.

Of the 1,172 jamaat meet attendees identified so far in the state, 884 have been traced and quarantined and their native districts have been informed about the same, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi told reporters here on Thursday.

Stressing that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given clear directives to maintain utmost care with regard to those who attended the Jamaat meet and others linked to them, Awasthi said a total of 287 foreigners have been found in the state and action will be initiated against them under the Epidemic Act and Disaster management Act.

Of these 287, 286 have been quarantined, said Awasthi, adding 32 FIRs have been registered so far in 13 districts against such people.

The passports of 211 foreigners too have been seized so far, he said.

The lockdown is being enforced in the state properly with the all the borders, including inter-district ones and the international one with Nepal, having been sealed completely, said the additional home secretary, adding the movement has been sealed effectively.

The checkup and scrutiny of people returning from Tablighi Jamaat is going on strictly and action will be taken against all those found hiding information.

He also urged people to provide information about such people if they are not coming forward and identifying themselves.

Giving district-wise break up of the Tablighi Jamaat people in the state, he said, 304 people have been identified in Meerut, 145 in Bareilly, 197 in Varanasi, 187 in Gorakhpur, 104 in Agra, 70 in Gautambudh Nagar, 69 in Lucknow, 40 in Allahabad, 33 in Kanpur and 24 others in districts falling in Lucknow zone.