303 Tablighi Jamaat members, Nizamuddin attendees under quarantine in Bengal

As many as 303 Tablighi Jamaat

members as well as attendees of the congregation organized by it in Delhi's Nizamuddin last month have been placed under quarantine at a facility near here, officials said on Tuesday.

These 303 quarantined people included 108 foreigners.

Thousands of people across the country and abroad had attended the religious event between March 13 and 15 after the Delhi government had promulgated orders prohibiting gatherings of more than 200 persons. Many of the attendees later tested positive for COVID-19 and several of them died.

"At the moment, 303 Tablighi Jamaat members along with those who attended the event in Delhi have been quarantined at the Haj Tower cum Empowerment Centre in Rajarthat. Doctors have been attending to them daily, a senior official of the West Bengal State Haj Committee said.

 

Of the 303 people, 195 are residents of West Bengal whereas the remaining 108 hailed from countries such as Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia, a health department official said.

A total of 34 people came from Indonesia, followed by 25 from Myanmar, 21 from Thailand, 19 from Bangladesh and nine from Malaysia.

"Free food and lodging facilities are being provided to those who are in quarantine in Haj Tower Cum Empowerment Centre here," the member of the centre said.

The West Bengal State Haj Committee has started offering treatment and help to Tablighi Jamaat members stranded in different places across the state due to the lockdown after instructions from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

After successful completion of the quarantine period, they will be sent home, the health department official said.