GUWAHATI: The Assam government has said that it “is acting swiftly and in the best possible manner” to detect and quarantine the 456 persons from the state who had taken part in the Tablighi Jamaat held earlier this month at Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi.
In the wake of reported deaths of people who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat at Hazrat Nizamuddin and many reportedly contracting the coronavirus, the state government has also asked all citizens from Assam to voluntarily report to the nearby government hospital if they were present at the religious congregation.
State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed the media on Tuesday afternoon that the state government had in its possession a list of 299 persons from the state, who were present in and around the hotspot near Nizamuddin Dargah.
“We have received another list of 157 persons from Assam who were near the hotspot of Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Dargah. We are acting swiftly and in the best possible manner to quarantine all of them, as and when they reach Assam or those who may have reached,” Sarma said.
“We’ve alerted district administrations to find out if these people have returned to Assam. We have also issued strict instructions to quarantine them if they are in the state,” he said.
“If there is anyone from Assam who attended the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat at Hazrat Nizamuddin in Delhi, please immediately report voluntarily to the nearest government hospital or by calling helpline number 104. Please treat this as very important,” Sarma tweeted earlier in the day.
He also informed that all deputy commissioners and superintendents of police have been advised through a video conference to take swift and strict measures for all those who returned to the state from the religious congregation.
The minister said that the detected persons would undergo tests for coronavirus from Wednesday.
Meawnhile, Assam chief secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna appealed to the people stranded in different states outside Assam to remain where they are during the 21-day lockdown period.
In a statement issued to the media on Tuesday, Krishna said that necessary arrangements for food, accommodation and other amenities were being ensured in consultation with the governments and local administration of respective states.
