The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday said 376 fresh Covid-19 cases were reported in the country in the last 24 hours – the biggest single-day increase. The number of confirmed cases rose to 1,637, and 38 people have been killed so far, according to the ministry’s Wednesday morning update.
“As of now, 1,637 confirmed cases and 38 deaths have been reported,” the ministry’s statement read. “During the last 24 hours, 376 new confirmed cases and 3 new deaths have been reported. 132 persons have been cured/discharged from the hospitals after recovery.”
However, during the daily media briefing, the ministry’s Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said 386 new positive cases were reported in the last 24 hours. “I want to highlight that the rise in the number of positive cases does not represent a national trend, but if there will be a failure anywhere, obviously cases will rise,” he said.
Agarwal added that 154 fresh cases were reported due to the transit history of those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, reported PTI. These include 23 new Covid-19 cases from Jammu and Kashmir, 20 from Telangana, 18 from Delhi, 65 from Tamil Nadu, 17 from Andhra Pradesh, nine from Andaman and Nicobar Islands and two from Puducherry.
Several cases of Covid-19 in Delhi as well as in other states have been traced to the congregation held at the Nizamuddin Markaz in the national Capital last month, which thousands attended. Many state governments have been trying to trace the people who returned after attending the event. As many as seven people – one from Kashmir and six from Telangana, died of Covid-19 in the days following the congregation.
The Centre has declared the Markaz a coronavirus hotspot, while the Delhi government and police have evacuated 2,361 persons from there. So far, 91 people who were among the attendees at the programme and their contacts, have tested positive for the virus.
Meanwhile, the highest number of cases was reported from Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, reported The News Minute. The state’s Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said 110 new coronavirus patients who tested positive were part of the congregation. After an appeal from the state authorities, 1,103 people came forward for testing. The patients who attended the Delhi event belong to 19 districts across the state.
As Scroll.in reported previously, thousands of Indians and hundreds of foreigners had attended the conference that took place on March 9 and 10 in the densely populated Nizamuddin area. The conference was organised by the Tablighi Jamaat preachers at the Alami Markaz Banglewali Masjid in Delhi. An Islamic evangelical organisation, the Jamaat, an offshoot of the Deobandi movement, has its presence in several parts of India and countries in South Asia and South-East Asia.
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As many as 60 people from Pune who visited the event were quarantined on Tuesday. District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said the total number of people from Pune who attended the event is over 130, but many of them are untraceable.
The Jaunpur administration in Uttar Pradesh have quarantined about 50 people who attended a religious congregation in Nizamuddin. Thirty-four Gautam Buddh Nagar residents, who have shown no symptoms of coronavirus yet, were also home quarantined as a precautionary measure because they attended the event.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh on Monday recorded its first death from Covid-19, after the samples of a 25-year-old man who died on Monday, tested positive. His death has sparked concerns about the spread of infection after it was revealed that he reportedly hid his travel history details from authorities.
The global number of cases rose to 8,59,796 on Wednesday, with over 42,000 patients dead, according to Johns Hopkins University.
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