Coronavirus: Delhi SHOs told to check mosques

“Places where they are staying are for common use. No social distancing would be possible there, causing grave danger to public health,” said DCP (special branch) Suman Nalwa in her letter to the health secretary.

Delhi Police chief S N Shrivastava has also directed special branch teams to check all mosques in the capital, with help from local police, to find out if foreign nationals are still in Delhi. Police teams are also trying to identify those who attended the programme at the mosque, in order to screen them and send them into quarantine if required.

Read| The markaz in Nizamuddin has thrown light on a malaise — and a challenge

The direction came after Nalwa sent a list to Shrivastava, stating that “as per our information, persons/foreigners associated with Tablighi Jamaat are presently staying at various masjids in Delhi. They had been sent from Tablighi Jamaat headquarters situated at Masjid Banglewali, Hazrat Nizamuddin.”

“We have so far traced 23 Indians; 127 Indonesians; 9 from Bangladesh; 13 from Kyrgyzstan; one each from Italy, Belgium and Tunisia; eight from Malaysia; seven Algerians; and seven others,” said a senior police officer.

After identifying them, police are informing the district administration concerned and shifting them to quarantine centres for further medical help.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police have arrested two men after they found eight Kyrgyzstan nationals staying at his flat in Northwest Delhi’s Bharat Nagar.