Biggest spike in cases, 40% linked to Nizamuddin

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 1

India today braced for the health impact of a steep rise in new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours. Of the 386 fresh cases reported across the country since Tuesday, 154 (40 per cent) had attended the religious congregation that the Muslim missionary group, Tablighi Jamaat, had organised at Nizamuddin here.

The Ministry of Health said the cases had risen from 1,251 at 4 pm on Tuesday to 1,637 at 4 pm today . This was the highest one-day rise in the tally in a 24-hour bracket since the reporting of the first case on January 30.

Of the 154 confirmed cases involving Nizamuddin event attendees, the highest – 65 are from Tamil Nadu followed by 23 from Jammu and Kashmir, 20 from Telangana, 18 from Delhi, 17 from Andhra Pradesh, nine from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and two from Puducherry.

Experts said they were monitoring if the Nizamuddin cluster had the potential to impact India’s disease curve that was stable until Sunday at around 1,000 cases before the cases spiked on Tuesday.

“All states that have reported cases related to the Tablighi event have been notified to undertake intensive drives to trace the contacts of patients, test them, quarantine or isolate them depending on their health risk profile. Additional sample testing is going on in other states. The one-day increase of 386 does not represent a national trend. We all know failure anywhere will lead to such a rise in cases.

The government appeals to all to avoid religious gatherings and follow directions on social distancing,” Lav Agarwal, spokesperson, Health Ministry, said. Maharashtra, HP, UP and Assam are testing samples from people with Nizamuddin travel history.

The Centre didn’t rule out further rise in the cases due to the Nizamuddin cluster that has left worried surveillance teams. However, the government didn’t comment on whether the country risked entering the community transmission stage due to the cluster.

Meanwhile, the police today evacuated all 2,361 residents at Tablighi Jamaat headquarters here. Of these, 1,800 were quarantined at nine facilities and 617 taken to hospitals for testing.

In a video conference with state chief secretaries and DGPs, Cabinet Secretary Rajeev Gauba asked them to monitor any potential ramifications of the new disease clusters and urged them to ensure migrant welfare at relief camps.

47,951 tests conducted

New Delhi: The ICMR said tests were being conducted at 36% of the national testing capacity. So far, 47,951 tests have been conducted. On Tuesday, 4,562 tests were done across 126 government labs and 816 in 51 private labs. India’s testing average is much less than that of Italy and the US. TNS

BCG vaccine offers immunity?

New Delhi: The BCG vaccine, administered to millions of children in the country soon after birth, could be a “game-changer”, say US scientists. They say Covid impact is less in countries following the BCG protocol. PTI

Eight strains identified

New York: Scientists have identified eight strains of coronavirus from over 2,000 genetic sequences submitted from laboratories across the world. This shows the virus is mutating into new sub-types. IANS

100 gather at rajasthan dargah

Jaipur: About 100 people gathered for a religious congregation at a dargah in Sarwar town in Rajasthan on Tuesday, following which the police used mild force to disperse them. Six persons were later arrested. PTI

Region combats virus

503 from Haryana who attended delhi event identified

Chandigarh: As many as 503 persons, including 72 foreigners, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin have been identified in Haryana and the government is putting them under quarantine. Health Minister Anil Vij said the process to identify all those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat was on. “I have directed all SPs to identify all such persons and take necessary action against them,” he said. Meanwhile, no fresh case was reported on Wednesday in the state, which has seen 29 cases so far. TNS

All 17 samples test negative in Himachal

Shimla: The reports of all 17 persons tested for Covid-19 turned out negative on Wednesday, leaving HP’s tally at three positive cases. Additional Chief Secretary RD Dhiman said the samples were tested at Tanda Medical College, Kangra, and Indira Gandhi Medical College and all turned out negative. So far, three of the 245 persons tested have turned out positive, including a Tibetan who died later. Of 3,750 persons under surveillance, 1,371 have completed the mandatory 28-day quarantine. TNS

7 fresh cases in Valley

Srinagar: J&K continued to witness an increase in the number Covid cases as seven more persons tested positive in the Valley. The total number of positive cases in the UT is 62 now — 50 in Kashmir and 12 in Jammu. TNS

5 more test +ve, Golden Temple ex-ragi among them

Chandigarh: With five more persons testing positive on Wednesday, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has reached 46 in Punjab. As per the Health Department, three cases have been reported from SAS Nagar and one each from Ludhiana and Amritsar. Among the positive patients is Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa, a former Hazoori Ragi of the Golden Temple. Meanwhile, as the state government prepares for its biggest annual exercise of procuring wheat amid the curfew, it faces a serious challenge of shortage of the migrant labour. TNS

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