VIJAYAWADA: With the Tablighi Jamaat meet in New Delhi leading to a massive spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in Andhra Pradesh, the State government has appealed to the attendees and their relatives to voluntarily come forward and get tested for the infection.
As many as 18 of the 21 people in AP who tested positive on Tuesday were either attendees of the religious gathering, or a close contact of one. The meeting was held in Hazrat Nizamuddin on March 15 and 16.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, who was apprised of the situation in a review meeting, said, “There is no stigma in getting tested or treated. It will only improve their health.” He further directed the police and health departments to trace all the attendees and their contacts.While the State government has set up a hotline — 104 — for notifying the details of returnees, various district administrations have also set up phone numbers for the purpose. Though the exact number of attendees is yet to be ascertained, sources said it could be around 700, and around 85 are yet to be traced.
As per a report issued by the government, 369 attendees were identified in the State. However, Prakasam (132) and Guntur (184) districts alone have 316 attendees, according to respective collectors P Bhaskar and Samuel Anand. Kurnool district, according to another report doing the rounds, has 189 attendees.
While the identification drive is underway, officials said there is no need to panic. “We have identified over 29,000 foreign returnees and are monitoring them. So, monitoring a few clusters with a New Delhi link is not a problem,” said an official from the Chief Minister’s Office.
Railways shares information
District collectors said details were also sourced from the Indian Railways regarding the people who detrained in AP from New Delhi. Sources said most people identified have been isolated and tested.