People leave for hospital in a bus from Nizamuddin on Monday

CHENNAI: As Tamil Nadu recorded 17 more Covid-19 cases on Monday and at least a score more suspected to be infected, the state's anti-Covid-19 machinery swung into action to trace the 980 Tamil Muslims who took part in a Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) conference in New Delhi and returned home. While 28 are believed to be from Coimbatore, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami confirmed that 10 were members of the TJ delegation from Erode.

A 65-year-old TN Muslim preacher of TJ, which is a religious outreach organisation, passed away on Sunday and several others in a mosque in Delhi's West Nizamuddin showed Covid-19 like symptoms, triggering panic among the hundreds of inmates.

At least 1,500 Muslims from TN participated in a three-day conference that ended on March 23. While around 900 religious leaders returned, taking flights and buses home, 600 remained at the Banglewali masjid, rubbing shoulders with 800 other TJ followers hailing from Delhi, UP, Ranchi and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands besides other parts of the country.

P alaniswami told reporters that among the 17 fresh cases in TN on Monday, 10 from Erode were among the 981 who returned from the conference. "The numbers rose from this team," he said. Grappling with rising cases back home, TN now has the onerous task of tracking the 900-odd Tamil Muslims who returned to the state, besides identifying their families and contacts, screening, and isolating them.

T he state's district collectors are on the job of tracking those who took part in the conference. "We have isolated 33, out of which 10 have tested positive. The operation is still on to identify the Muslim members and their families," said Erode collector C Kathiravan. In Coimbatore, 44 of the 61 had been traced and 41 put to test. "The families were refusing to get screened. We were firm with them," said Coimbatore collector K Rajamani.

"Today, health department officials visited my house and checked for symptoms. I am fine," said Rahamathullah from Puthanatham in Trichy.

T J headquarters spokesman Tamin Ansari told TOI that Delhi health authorities and the police have been taking the Masjid's inmates in batches of 65 for screening to government hospitals for the past three days. "They were screening those above 65 years of age," said Ansari. He said the conference, a biannual exercise, was organised for TJ ulemas of every state to assess intra-religious conversions. The March 21-23 conference was for the TN chapter .

Many of them arrived in Delhi by March 18. "While several flew home out of Delhi on March 23 night, many hit the road in buses and vans ahead of the lockdown," said Ansari. There were at least 800-odd pilgrims from other parts of the country as well, already staying at the masjid, he said .

Mohammed Rehmatullah, 64, whose friend passed away on Sunday, told TOI between bouts of cough: "It has been very difficult for us when they take us for screening. We don't get proper food or even water. "

Talking about his deceased friend, Rehmatullah said: "He had fever and cough and suffered from a chronic heart ailment." Accompanied by four others, including his friend, Rehmatullah had boarded a train from their native Sirkali in Nagapattinam district to Chennai and later to Delhi to reach the national capital on the morning of March 21. The Tamil Muslims are desperate to get back home, he said.

