Assam seeks list of Nizamuddin returnees from mosques; COVID- 19 cases rise to 25

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 told reporters in Tezpur.

The only COVID-19 patient without any link to the Nizamuddin event and his family members have been extremely cooperative and they have given a list of 111 persons who came in contact with him, he said.

Terming the situation "very serious", Sarma appealed to all those who attended the Jamaat congregation to call the helpline number 104 or contact health workers so that their samples can be tested and their contacts traced.

The minister said he was planning to discuss the matter with the mosque authorities.

"If they do not cooperate, we will have to ask the deputy commissioners and superintendents of police to take necessary action to ensure that they go for the test," he said.

The first COVID-19 case in the state, not related to the Nizamuddin event, was reported from Guwahati, which falls under Kamrup (Metro) district and the patient, a resident of a high-end apartment, had travelled to Delhi recently, a district official said.

The samples of the 111 people who came in contact with the patient have been taken and they are quarantined in different places in Guwahati and Nagaon, he said.

The patient, who is undergoing treatment at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), tweeted on Saturday requesting all who came in contact with him to quarantine themselves.

The apartment complex with 150 flats has been declared a "containment zone" with nobody being allowed to come in or go out except in case of a medical emergency.

The district administration will be in contact with the housing society to ensure the supply of essential items, the minister said.

The COVID 19 patients are being treated at GMCH, Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital and Sonapur District Hospital here, Golaghat Civil Hospital, Goalpara Civil Hospital and Silchar Hospital.