More on Covid-19

Over 250 foreign nationals have been quarantined or admitted to isolation wards in various states in India following the revelation that they had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregations in Delhi.At least 20 of these foreigners tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 10 days, including a 68-year-old Filipino who died in a Mumbai hospital on March 22.A 22-year-old Malaysian woman, currently in Jharkhand, is the latest of these foreigners to test positive. In fact, she is the first confirmed case in the state.A massive search in UP on Tuesday revealed 75 foreigners who had attended the religious meets in Delhi were hiding at Lucknow, Bahraich, Bijnor, Jaunpur and Allahabad since the lockdown began. They had not informed the local authorities about their presence. All of them have been quarantined.Similarly, several foreigners have been put under Covid-19 watch in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana , Maharashtra, Bengal, Haryana and Jharkhand.While many of those who attended the meet are from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh, the Tablighi Jamaat congregations — which were held in Nizamuddin during different periods in March — were also attended by delegates from Tanzania, Brunei, Iran, Ghana, Mauritius, Ivory Coast, Thailand, Kyrgystan, South Africa, Gambia, USA, UK, France, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Kenya.In Tamil Nadu, more than 60 foreigners from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and Kyrgystan have been put under surveillance after attending the Delhi meeting. At least six of them, including four Indonesians, have tested positive. All of them are in the isolation ward in the Salem Government Hospital. At least 156 persons who came in contact with the pilgrims have been house quarantined. In all, 74 missionaries who attended the Delhi congregations arrived in the state since December. However, at least 12 of them flew back before the lockdown was declared.In Maharashtra, the Ahmednagar district administration has picked up 35 people, mostly foreign nationals, who had attended the congregation on March 13. After testing positive, two of them are undergoing treatment at Evangeline Booth Hospital in Ahmednagar. The rest have been quarantined at the Ahmednagar civil hospital. The delegates are from Indonesia, Tanzania, Brunei, Iran, Ghana, Mauritius and Ivory Coast.Many foreign delegates who tested positive or are suspected to have caught the virus travelled by trains and aircraft, exposing fellow passengers to the Covid-19 risk. The 22-year-old Malaysian who tested positive in Jharkhand on Tuesday travelled in AC 3–tier in Rajdhani Express and reached Ranchi from Delhi on March 17. She has been shifted to a Rajendra Institute of Medical Science and a curfew has been imposed in the densely populated Hindpiri area in Ranchi, where the woman stayed at a private residence near a mosque for several days. Over 10,000 residents in the area are being screened.Ranchi SP Ajit Peter Dungdung told TOI that the group which the woman was part of did not report its arrival in the city to the administration as per norms.In Telangana, nine out of 11 Indonesians who were in the country to attend the gathering at Nizamuddin tested positive for coronavirus last week. The Indonesians came to Karimnagar on March 14 by train. They visited four mosques in the town. One person who hosted the group and two of his family members have also tested positive.In Karnataka, at least 50 foreign nationals, including 19 from Kyrgistan, 20 from Indonesia, four from South Africa, three from Gambia and one each from US, UK, France and Kenya have been quarantined.Similarly, the Madhya Pradesh government has identified at least 20 people from Malaysia and Indonesia who attended the gathering in Nizamuddin in March. The foreigners came to India in the second week of March, before Covid-19 travel restrictions were clamped. Officials have found that they stayed in two mosques in Bagh Farhat Afza area of Bhopal.