Chhattisgarh: 7 in contact with Tablighi Jamaat test positive

Seven persons who came in contact with 16 Tablighi Jamaat members staying at a mosque in Katghora town of Chhattisgarh, have tested positive for novel coronavirus, taking the number of COVID-19 cases in the state to 25, an official said here on Sunday.

The latest cases are from the Purani Basti locality of Katghora town in Korba district, the official said.

With these cases, the number of confirmed cases in Purani Basti area of Katghora town, which has emerged as the COVID-19 hotspot in the state, has gone up to 16, he said.

"All seven had come in contact with 16 Tablighi Jamaat members who were staying at a mosque in Purani Basti locality of the town, the official said.

A 16-year-old boy in this Jamaat group had tested positive for coronavirus on April 4, after which another eight in the area got infected, he added.

Sub Divisional Magistrate, Katghora Suryakiran Tiwari said, samples of all those who came in contact with Jamaat members and people tested positive in the area had been sent for testing.

"Of them, samples of seven persons tested positive for coronavirus late night on Saturday. They are being shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Raipur," Tiwari said.

Katghora, located around 200 km from state capital Raipur, had been sealed and samples of all people in the area are being taken for screeningforCOVID-19.

So far, 10 persons in the state have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the infection, a health official said.