As many as 310 Tablighi Jamaat workers from Kerala had participated in a religious congregation, held in Nizamuddin in New Delhi from March 1 to 15, in two batches.
The first batch of 160 people had already returned to Kerala. This group comprises mainly natives of Malappuram and Kannur districts in north Kerala.
Health officials said most of them had gone into self quarantine after their return. They are now trying to identify those who evaded quarantine.
The second batch of 150 has been quarantined in New Delhi.
One Keralite – 74-year-old Dr M Salim – had died at the prayer event apparently due to cardiac arrest. But it is still not clear whether he had contracted COVID-19. His body was buried in Delhi. Ten persons who accompanied him are under observation.
The government collected details about the event after six Telangana residents and one from Jammu & Kashmir, who took part in the congregation, died due to COVID-19.
Twenty four others had also tested positive for coronavirus. The Delhi Police has cordoned off a major area in Nizamuddin West.
Going by the numbers provided by health officials from five south Indian states, it appears that more than 3,000 people had attended the prayer congregation.
With 1,500 people, the largest contingent was from Tamil Nadu. More than 1,000 people from Telangana, 500 from Andhra Pradesh and 310 from Kerala had participated the event. More than 75 people are in quarantine in Karnataka.
The Union Home Ministry said approximately 2,100 foreigners visited India for Tabligh's activities this year. These include citizens of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan.
It also said that all state police units have been asked to locate Indian Tablighi Jamaat followers with the help of local coordinators. They should then be screened and put under quarantine.
Markaz authorities claim that participants at the congregation were forced to remain in Delhi as a travel ban was imposed in the country following the ‘Janata curfew’ and 21-day lock-down.
The Tablighi, one of the world's largest missionary movements, hosted a gathering last month at a mosque complex on the outskirts of Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, that has emerged as a source of hundreds of coronavirus infections across Southeast Asia.
Lockdown made things difficult: Tablighi
Musharraf Ali, one of the administrators of the Tablighi centre in Delhi, said the group had been seeking help from police and the city administration to deal with people streaming in. But the lockdown had made things more difficult.
"Under such compelling circumstances there was no option ... but to accommodate the stranded visitors with prescribed medical precautions until such time that the situation becomes conducive for their movement or arrangements are made by the authorities," the Tablighi said in a statement.
None reported from Kottayam
Those from Kottayam district, who have attended the religious congregation held in Delhi's Nizamuddin area on March 18, should contact the District Control Room at 1077.
Kottayam District Medical Officer (DMO) said on Wednesday that so far, no one has returned to the district after attending March 18's event at Nizamuddin. However, 12 people, who have attended prayers at the centre earlier had returned to the district on March 10 and are under observation. So far, no symptoms have been found in them.
Nizamuddin area has emerged as one of the hotspots for coronavirus outbreak since the 'markaz' or gathering of Tabligh-e-Jamaat was held there, prompting many states to launch a massive search for the attendees.
