Coronavirus: 200 people taken to hospital after 6 tested positive in Delhi's Nizamuddin area

A man wearing a protective mask sits inside a bus that will take him to a quarantine facility, amid concerns about the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Nizamuddin area of New Delhi, India, March 30, 2020. (Reuters photo)

At least 200 people from Delhi's Nizamuddin area were taken to hospitals for COVID-19 testing after half a dozen people were tested positive for the virus and several developed similar symptoms, prompting authorities to cordon off the area to ensure that nobody enters there.

All these people are suspected to be exposed to infection at a gathering at the mosque of Tablighi Jamaat earlier this month, which was also attended by people from abroad, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Around 500 people from various states have also attended the gathering after which they had left the place.

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Thirty-four people were taken to hospitals on Sunday while around 150 people were taken for testing on Monday, amid worries that this has put at risk around 2,000 people living in the mosque, which also acts as the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat.

Delhi Police led by Joint Commissioner of Police Devesh Srivastava has cordoned off the area and drones are being used for surveillance of the area to ensure that the lockdown of the locality is complete. The number of those tested for COVID-19 from this area could rise reports suggest that at least 300 people have shown symptoms of COVID-19 like fever and sore throat among others.

Adding to the worries of health authorities, one of the immediate tasks is to identify those who attended the religious gathering.

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A Srinagar-based preacher, who attended the gathering, has died of COVID-19 while it is being ascertained whether the death of a man in Tamil Nadu, who also participated in the event, is due to COVID-19. The preacher from Srinagar had also visited Deoband seminary in Uttar Pradesh before returning to Kashmir while reports also said there were six positive cases of COVID-19 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Tablighi Jamaat spokesperson said they had on Sunday given a list of people, who had any health issue, including cold and fever, to the authorities. "Some of them have been admitted in the hospital on the basis of age and travel history. We don't have any confirmed COVID-19 case till now," he was quoted by ANI as saying.