With 68 per cent of the total COVID-19 cases in Haryana being linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event, Health Minister Anil Vij had issued a warning to all those who are yet to come clear about their visit to Nizamuddin Markaz or submitted themselves for screening.
As the deadline for disclosure ended on Wednesday evening, Vij said those still hiding would be penalised and may even be booked for 'attempt to murder'.
Haryana has reported over 160 cases till now, and various clusters in Nuh, Palwal, Gurugram and Faridabad have been declared containment zones. The state government has still not clarified its take on extension or partial relief from the ongoing lockdown.
According to state health department authorities, 10 Jamaatis, hailing from Himachal Pradesh and evacuated from mosques in Sohna, have tested positive on Wednesday, ringing alarm bells for the Gurugram administration. The district recorded the highest number of cases on Wednesday while majority of other districts reported one or two cases, taking the state total to over 160.
Panic gripped Raipur village in Sohna town from where Jamaatis had been evacuated. In wake of the recent incident of firing at a mosque in Dhankot village mosque, security has been beefed up at Raipur and people have been asked to stay indoors.
“Yes, all ten Jamaatis had been staying together in a mosque, but there is no evident threat of its (COVID-19) spread in village. We have already started screening the villagers”, said Gurugram chief medical officer Dr J.S. Punia.
Meanwhile, Nuh, which is one of the hotspots, reported only one positive case on Wednesday and 11 people came forward, revealing that they had attended the Tablighi Jamaat event. All of them have been quarantined and samples have been sent for testing. Nuh has so far reported 38 active cases following which 98 villages with a population over four lakh have been surveyed and screened. There have been complaints of misbehavior and resistance from locals following which special police teams have been deputed to accompany medical staff. The district authorities expect the number to increase but said there is no reason to panic as of now.
"We expect numbers to go up but there is no threat of cluster transmission in Nuh. The containment zones have all been screened and surveyed, 58 people have been home quarantined. We are awaiting reports of over 300 samples”, said Nuh chief medical officer Dr. Virender Yadav.
Of the people who tested positive in Haryana on Wednesday, 12 are from Gurugram, two from Palwal, and one each from Sonipat, Fatehabad, Nuh and Faridabad.
