Tablighi Jamaat Markaz Becomes Biggest Coronavirus Hotspot In India, 2,000 Under Radar: 10 Points

A six-storey building in the Nizamuddin area of south Delhi has emerged as the biggest coronavirus hotspot in India. The Delhi Police has begun clearing the headquarters of Tablighi Jamat, which is adjacent to the world-famous Nizamuddin Auliya Dargah, after the COVID-19 surveillance teams traced back the travel history of seven people who died in Telangana due to the viral infection on Monday. The latest reports say that around 300 people are suspected to have the coronavirus infection. The numbers could go up exponentially because as many as 2,000 people were staying inside the building. The Arvind Kejriwal government has ordered the Delhi Police to file an FIR against the owner of the building for violating the lockdown. As the health officials continue to check the entire Nizamuddin West area, here are the latest updates on the most important COVID-19 story of the day:

1.  The Delhi Markaz of Tablighi Jamaat came under the spotlight after seven deaths were reported from Telangana. The travel history revealed that all of them had attended the religious congregation in Nizamuddin. On Monday evening, the health officials reached the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters and told the people living in the building about the viral infection. 
2.  So far, 37 confirmed cases of coronavirus infection have been reported from the building. Out of these 24 were tested positive, Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said. 
3.  The officials are trying the understand the chain of contacts. As many as 2,000 people are under radar because they stayed inside the building at the time pf the annual congregation earlier this month. 
4. Around 26 DTC buses ferried the people from the Markaz to various isolation centres around Delhi. The clearing operation that started on Monday evening continued till Tuesday morning.
5. Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic Movement that originated in India. Apart from India, the other biggest congregation of the sect took place in Pakistan, where similar cases of COVID-19 infections were reported. 
6.  The web of close contact can become the biggest worry of the health officials. Before Nizamuddin, other hotspots in India include Bhilwara in Rajasthan and Sangli in Maharashtra. 
7. The fear of community transmission has increased manifold. 
8. Neighbouring Uttar Pradesh has issued alert in the western region, which has the maximum number of Tablighi Jamaat followers. The Uttar Pradesh Police has been instructed to trace and prepare the list of all the contacts in areas such as Ghaziabad, Saharanpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Hapur, Bijnor, Baghpat, Agra, etc. 
9. A more serious spread from a sect’s gathering was reported from Malaysia, where at least 500 from the nearly 16,000 who gathered for the four-day event starting on Feb 27 at the Sri Petaling Mosque compound, according to a New York Times report.
10. So far, India has registered 1117 coronavirus cases with 32 deaths.