At least 182 persons in Pune division, including more than 130 in Pune district, had attended the fortnight-long conclave hosted by the Tablighi Jamaat , a global Islamic organisation, in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West area earlier this month, authorities said on Wednesday.
Speaking to The Hindu , Pune Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said that the divisional authorities had requisite information regarding their whereabouts and that they were tracking down those who participated in the conclave, some of whom were foreign nationals.
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“We have information of 182 persons who attended the conclave from Pune division [which comprises Pune, Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Solapur districts] of which 132 are from Pune district, including Pimpri-Chinchwad. We are in the process of tracking down these people, isolating them and checking them for symptoms of the virus,” said Dr. Mhaisekar.
32 from Pimpri-Chinchwad
Of the 132 persons who had participated in the conclave, at least 32 are believed to be residing in Pimpri-Chinchwad, said Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar.
“We have traced 20 of these 32 persons and have moved them to isolation facilities in Pimpri’s YCM Hospital as well as in the civic-run hospital in Bhosari,” said Mr. Hardikar, speaking to The Hindu .
He, however, stressed that none of the persons had shown any symptoms of the virus as yet.
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“As soon as we received information, we moved them into isolation facilities as a precautionary measure. They have had an extensive travel history, including their participation in the Jamaat conclave in Delhi,” Mr. Hardikar said, stating that officials were trying to trace the remaining 12 persons as they had shifted their residences.
The Nizamuddin Tablighi Jamaat conclave has turned into one of the largest contagion wellsprings in the country, resulting in several positive cases across India and being the cause of a number of deaths due to infection.
Maharashtra tally over 300
Maharashtra on Tuesday had reported a staggering surge of 82 COVID-19 positive cases as the State’s tally exceeded 300 positive cases.
Mumbai city alone registered nearly 60 fresh cases, exceeding 150 positive cases while new cases being reported from Pune, Ahmednagar and Buldhana districts as well as from Mumbai’s suburban areas.
Ahmednagar district authorities, meanwhile, said that the three new cases that were reported from Jamkhed tehsil on Tuesday were of persons who came in contact with a group of 14 foreign nationals, who are suspected of having participated in the Tablighi Jamaat conclave.
Of this group, a French national and another person from Ivory Coast in West Africa, had tested positive for COVID-19.
“This had left Delhi on March 14 and reached Ahmednagar city on March 16 where they stayed at the Markat Masjid for a day before heading for Jamkhed tehsil. The mixed group of foreign and Indian nationals comprised of persons from Ivory Coast, East Africa, one from Iran and one NRI from French along with people from Tamil Nadu and one person from Mumbai,” said Ahmednagar District Collector Rahul Dwivedi, stating that the authorities had traced more than 60 contacts of this group.
