C'garh: 16-yr-old Tablighi member tests coronavirus positive

A 16-year-old boy, who is a member

of Tablighi Jamaat, tested positive for coronavirus in Chhattisgarh's Korba district on Saturday, officials said.

However, it is not clear whether he had attended last month's religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin, they said.

This case has taken the number of COVID-19 patients in Chhattisgarh to 10. However, four of them have been discharged from hospitals following their recovery till Friday, the officials said.

The sample of the boy, who had arrived in Katghora town of the district from neighbouring Maharashtra early last month, was sent for testing to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Raipur on April 2, Korba Collector Kiran Kaushal said.

 

He was among 16 people who were quarantined at a mosque in Purani Basti area of Katghora, where they were staying, she said.

"After testing positive, he was shifted to AIIMS", she said.

This group of 16 people, all members of Tablighi Jamaat, had arrived at Katghora from Nagpur (Maharashtra) early last month, and were staying at the mosque.

Swab samples of all of them had been sent for COVID-19 testing to AIIMS on April 2, another official said.

During their medical examination carried out on March 24 and 26, no symptoms of coronavirus had been found in them.

"As of now it is not clear whether they had attended the religious congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin last month or came in contact with those who took part in the event. But as a precautionary measure, all of them were placed in isolation at the mosque and were under observation," he said.

Meanwhile, the collector has instructed officials to quarantine for a month all those who have arrived in Korba from other states and staying in different mosques.

She has also directed the health officials to conduct their medical examination.