Nearly a third of all confirmed coronavirus cases in India have been linked to the Tablighi Jamaat, the Health Ministry said on Satuday, adding that these cases had spread across 17 states and union territories. The religious event at a 100-year-old mosque complex in south Delhi has been declared a coronavirus hotspot by the government, with 22,000 who were either at the event or came in contact with Jamaat members quarantined.

Cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat have been reported from Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand.

In Tamil Nadu, the state worst hit by the fallout of the Jamaat event, 73 of 74 new cases reported on Saturday have been linked to the Jamaat. On Friday the southern state also reported a spike in the number of new cases for a third straight day, with most of the 100 patients linked to the Delhi mosque event. Overall 1,200 of 1,500 people who were at the Jamaat event and travelled to Tamil Nadu before the lockdown have been quarantined.

Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have also reported large numbers of COVID-19 cases linked to the Tablighi Jamaat, with 87 per cent of Andhra's cases so connected and positive cases reported from 27 UP districts. The North East has also been badly affected with 26 of 29 coronavirus cases connected to the Delhi mosque event.

Mumbai, the metro city with the most number of cases, may have escaped the result of the Jamaat crisis but faces a different challenge - containing the virus which has now spread to Dharavi. Regarded as Asia's largest slum, there are over a million people living within five square kilometres and five confirmed cases have been reported in four days.

The centre will provide free coronavirus testing and treatment facilities to over 50 crore Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme beneficiaries, the National Health Authority said today. The government body which runs the scheme said private labs and empanelled hospitals will be roped in for extending free service to the masses.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is working closely with the United States to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 50,000 and infected more than a million across nations. "Had an extensive telephone conversation with President Donald Trump We had a good discussion, and agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to fight COVID-19," PM Modi tweeted.

The Prime Minister also chaired a meeting to review different states' preparedness, a week after the government formed 11 empowered groups to fight against COVID-19. He directed officials to ensure availability of essential medical equipment such as personal protective equipment, masks, gloves and ventilators, his office said in a tweet.

The Uttar Pradesh government has filed charges against some members of the Tablighi Jamaat under the strict National Security Act. The charges were filed after allegations of misconduct against and assault on nurses at a Ghaziabad hospital. While ordering the charges to be filed, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called them "enemies of humanity".