The number of COVID-19 cases in India has seen a sudden spike in the number – it has doubled in the last three days from, 1,251 on March 31 to 2,547 on April 3. Of all the positive cases, 25 per cent are linked to the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi last month.
Of the 478 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, which is the highest single-day spike so far, at least 47 are linked to the Jamaat.
Across 14 states, at least 647 cases linked to the congregation have been reported, clarified Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. For instance, Tamil Nadu reported 102 news cases linked to the new cases, on Friday, April 3.
‘If we look at the last few days, the primary reason for the increase is the number of cases at a particular level. Otherwise, because of our efforts to promote social distancing and effectively implement the lockdown, cases were coming, but the rate of increase had not gone up. We have to understand that we are dealing with an infectious disease and one person’s failure puts us all back and all our efforts are a waste,’ The Indian Express quoted Lav Agarwal as saying.
States that reported cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat meeting are Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
Of 411 cases in Tamil Nadu, 364 were linked to the congregation. ‘A total of 1,200 people who travelled to Delhi in this regard have been tested for COVID-19, 303 people tested negative and the final results are pending,’ State Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said.
‘Our containment zone covers up to 5 km from the potential cases, and a 2 km buffer zone is also being watched regularly by a massive team of health workers,’ she added. ‘Nobody required critical care. That is a positive sign,’ she said, adding that besides the death in Madurai, all other patients in the state were stable.
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