‘Out of 91 Tablighi Jamaat followers who returned to Karnataka, 11 tested positive’: CM

Out of 91 Tablighi Jamaat followers who returned to Karnataka from the Delhi headquarters of the group, 11 were tested positive for deadly coronavirus, so far, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyuurappa said on Thursday.

“Of the 91 Jamaat members who returned from Nizamuddin Markaz in March, 11 tested positive at Bidar in northern Karnataka, while 80 tested negative,” he told media persons.

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Over 350 Jamaat members returned last month from Delhi after attending a religious gathering and out of these 150 have been identified and efforts are on to trace the remaining.

“Of the 31 Jamaat members tested in Bengaluru, all are negative. Reports of others tested are awaited. Efforts are on trace the remaining members,” Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also appealed to all the Jamaat returnees to report to the Health Department and undergo tests in order to identify those who are positive for the test.

Nizamuddin in Delhi has been identified as a hotspot now by the Delhi government after several people in the area showed symptoms of being infected with the novel Coronavirus following a religious prayer meeting in the locality earlier this month.

Over 2,000 delegates, including from Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Kyrgyzstan attended the Tabligh-e-Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin West from March 13-15, officials said as the south Delhi neighbourhood was virtually sealed following fears that some people may have contracted COVID-19.