Virus cases rise to 74, Nizamuddin link to a chunk of it surfaces

Seven people tested positive for coronavrius in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday with the total number rising to 74 and at least 32 confirmed cases having links to a recent religious congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin West.

The state government said efforts were afoot to 'isolate' all the participants of the conference from Tamil Nadu soon to stem the further spread of the contagion.

"We are of the view that further spread (of the virus) in Tamil Nadu can be prevented only if this group is completely isolated," Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K Shanmugam told reporters here.

Of the approximately 1,500 people who took part in the meet in Delhi, 1,131 have returned, about 800 were traced and 300 could not be found so far and the rest were quarantined by authorities in Delhi, he said.

"Efforts are afoot to identify and isolate them (about 300 people) completely within the next two to three days," he said.

A day after Chief Minister K Palaniswami said a number of people from Tamil Nadu -part of a group of about 1,500 people- who had been to Delhi recently to attend a meet were infected, the government said that of the seven fresh cases, five men had a travel history to the national capital.

Asked if the five were part of the Tamil Nadu group that attended a religious congregation in Delhi, an official replied in the affirmative.

Tablighi Jamaat had held a conference in Delhi recently
Of the 1,500 people, 981 have come back and we are testing all of them and it is the reason for the jump in numbers."