Andhra Pradesh reported a record increase of 88 Corona positive cases in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number to 132, according to the state health ministry.
The Andhra Pradesh government has linked the sudden spike in number of cororna positive cases to the religious gathering ‘Tablighi Jamaat’ between March 13-March 16 for which more than 1,000 people from across AP attended the congregation in the south Delhi neighbourhood of Nizamuddin. More than 8,000 people from Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and from all states of India attended the religious gathering. Almost 2,000 stayed in the area for days afterwards, and the area has become the coronavirus hotspot of India.
Across the mainstream media and social networks, the religious gathering was being blamed for spreading the virus while “Corona Jihad” began to trend on Twitter.
In the last 24 hours, Guntur and Nellore reported 20 cases each, 17 in Prakasam, 15 each in Krishna and Kadapa, 14 in West Godavari, 9 each in East Godavari, Vizag and Chittoor, 2 in Anatapur and 1 in Kurnool.
The religous gathering also appeared to trigger a spread of the virus across numerous states from Tamil Nadu, Kerala to Kashmir to West Bengal by those who returned home afterwards. So far, 10 people who attended the event have died while 1,800 people have been sent to nine hospitals and quarantine centres across the country. Telangana alone reported 9 deaths, most of those who died attended the Tablighi Jamaat.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday appealed to all those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat from the state, their family members and those who came in contact to voluntarily visit hospitals for medical check up.
Speaking to the mediapersons on Wednesday, the CM.said of the 87 cases that tested positive in the state, 70 have a Nizamuddin connection. Disclosing that 1,085 people had attended the religious gathering t, between March 15-17, Reddy said 585 people have been tested so far. While 70 positive cases have been identified from the tests, results of 500 cases are awaited. He said that 21 persons who had visited the Tablighi Jamaat congregation are yet to be traced.
