27 fresh COVID-19 cases in Jaipur, 11 of the attended Jamaat gathering in Delhi

Twenty-seven fresh cases of coronavirus were reported from Rajasthan on Wednesday and 11 of them had attended a Tablighi Jamaat gathering in Delhi, the country's biggest COVID-19 hotspot, pushing the total count of infected people in the state to 120, an official said.

Thirteen of the fresh cases were reported from the densely populated Ramganj area of Jaipur, another COVID-19 hotspot.

The 11 cases linked to the Jamaat gathering are from Tonk (4) and Churu (7).

The rest three cases were reported from Jodhpur (2) and Alwar. A 65-year-old man with no travel history and a 61-year-old woman evacuated from Iran last week in Jodhpur and another man from Alwar tested positive, Additional Chief Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said.

The woman has been kept at an army facility, he added.

All the 27 new cases are traced to a person first to get infected with the virus in Ramganj, he said.

"All have been kept in isolation. The 11 are those who attended markaz in Delhi," Singh added.

Rajasthan Health Minister Raghu Sharma said the situation is worrisome but under control.

"Over 2,000, those who came in contact of positive patients, have been traced and being screened. Teams have surveyed over 3.86 crore people in over 92 lakh households. Twenty-one have turned negative after treatment and 11 have been discharged," Sharma said.

A spurt in the number of cases in Ramganj was witnessed after a 45-year-old man with a travel history to the Middle East tested positive on March 26.

He landed at the Delhi airport on March 12 and took a bus the same day to return home, meeting several before he was found positive for COVID-19, officials said.

Ten members of his family and a friend had also contracted the disease.

Ramganj earlier reported 13 cases, including 11 of a family living in a multi-storey building in Phhuta Khurra.

On Wednesday, the administration extended the prohibitory orders and curfew in Jaipur district for an indefinite period.

Gathering of more than five people at any public place, religious and other functions without the permission of subdivisional magistrate (SDM) has been declared illegal and punishable under Section 188 of the IPC, said District Collector Jogaram.

As several people were seen on rooftops, the administration has decided to monitor the curfew with the help of drones, he said.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajeeva Swarup said a flag march will be conducted.

NGOs distributing food can continue to serve the needy but they have to give food packets to administration teams.

Jaipur Chief Medical and Health Officer Narrottam Sharma said the authorities have been closely monitoring the situation and about 125 close contacts of the positive patients have been sent to quarantine facilities.

He said over 70,000 people have been screened and about 15,000 households in the walled city area have been surveyed by health teams.

Sharma urged people to call on 181 if anyone found having fever, cough and cold.