UP CM cuts short visit to COVID-19 affected districts; to hold emergency meeting on Nizamuddin sit

Cutting short his visit to the districts with maximum number of COVID-19 patients, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday returned to the state capital to hold an urgent meeting with senior officials, in view of reports that people from the state attended a religious event in Delhi's Nizamuddin area which has emerged as one of the biggest hotspots of the disease.

The chief minister visited Ghaziabad Tuesday morning. He, however, cut short his visit and headed to Lucknow to meet senior health officers to review quarantine measures, especially in the light of the incident in Delhi, a government spokesman said.

He was scheduled to visit Meerut and Agra besides Ghaziabad to review the situation.

The CM will hold meeting with senior officials later in the day, the spokesman added.

Twenty-four people, who took part in a religious congregation in Nizamuddin West earlier this month, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, he said that 1,033 people have been shifted to various places.

The Delhi Police has cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West where several people showed symptoms of the coronavirus after taking part in the Tabligh-e-Jamaat.

Over 2,000 delegates, including from Indonesia and Malaysia, attended the congregation from March 1-15.