Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday asked all members of the Tablighi Jamaat who had attended the group’s congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, a COVID-19 hotspot, to come forward for testing by 5 p.m., failing which action would be taken against them.
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Three of the seven persons who tested positive for COVID-19 in the State on Saturday were members of the Islamic organisation, he said.
Earlier in the day, the State’s Director General of Police, Sita Ram Mardi, had issued a similar warning to the district heads of the Tablighi Jamaat. Mr. Mardi asked them to disclose details of all those who had entered the State after attending the congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West area last month.
The Chief Minister said Tablighi Jamaat members were not cooperating with the authorities.
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He asked all the members who attended the Delhi congregation to come forward for a medical check-up by 5 p.m. on Sunday and warned of strict action against those who do not comply with the order.
The Chief Minister said the three members of the group who had tested positive on Saturday were hiding in a mosque in Solan district’s Nalagarh and their samples were collected from there.
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The three were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Medical College here at 6.30 a.m. on Sunday, Senior Medical Superintendent, IGMC, Dr. Janak Raj said.
They are residents of Uttar Pradesh and had come to Himachal Pradesh’s Nalagarh area from Nizamuddin on March 18. Their contacts were being traced so that they could also be quarantined, he said.
With the seven fresh infections, the number of COVID-19 cases in Himachal Pradesh has risen to 14, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) R.D. Dhiman said on Saturday.
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These include two patients who have recovered and two deaths. There are 10 active cases in the State, he said.
Of these, six are members of the Tablighi Jamaat, according to officials.
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The remaining three are being treated at the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) in Kangra district’s Tanda, they said.
