Punjab govt gives 24-hour deadline to Tablighis attendees to report or face criminal prosecution

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], April 7 (ANI): Punjab Health Department on Tuesday gave a 24-hour deadline to all Tabligh Jamaat (TJ) participants of the Delhi Nizamuddin Markaz event, "who were hiding out in the state," to report to the nearest police station, or else face criminal prosecution.
As per an official release, the spokesperson of the department said all those who had attended the TJ event at Nizamuddin Markaz and were currently in Punjab should report and appear for Covid-19 screening within the next 24 hours.
Of the 467 Tabligh Jamaat workers who had reportedly come to Punjab from Nizamuddin, police had so far traced 445 participants, with 22 yet to be tracked. Samples had been collected and tested for 350 of those traced, and of these, 12 had been found positive and 111 negative. The results for the remaining 227 were awaited, said the spokesperson.
The remaining participants have been asked to come out for testing and join hands with the Punjab Government to eliminate this disease from the country.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has already issued an advisory on March 28 and, in its continuation, reiterated its directions to all the Chief Secretaries/Advisors to Administrators of all States/UTs and DGPs in this regard on April 4.
The Tablighi Jamaat event in Delhi has emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering including deaths in Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana.
A FIR was earlier registered against Tablighi Jamaat head Maulana Saad and other under the Epidemic Disease Act 1897, in the national capital.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Joint Secretary, Lal Aggarwal had said that as many as 1445 cases in India have links with Tablighi Jamaat gathering.
Till Tuesday, 10 am, there were 91 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Punjab with 8 deaths and a total of 9,695 were quarantined in the state.
The total number of coronavirus cases in India reached 4,421, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.
Out of the 4,421 cases, 3,981 are active cases while 326 have been cured or discharged and one has migrated. The death toll stands at 117. (ANI)