Hyderabad: It all began in the national capital on March 8, 9 and 10 -- weeks before the symbolic Janta curfew announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A religious congregation of 2.000 people took place at a mosque in Delhi's Nizamuddin area. It included several religious preachers from countries like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
The event, which has thrown up several corona positive cases, is a ticking time bomb as six of the persons who returned to Telangana have died from the virus and positive cases are emerging from at least five regions including Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
The suspected outbreak was discovered earlier today in Delhi as it emerged that several hid their travel history to foreign countries and also regarding the large congregation.
Around 1,500 people, who attended the conference by Islamic preachers belonging to Tablighi Jamaat, stayed back in Delhi's Nizamuddin West following the nationwide lockdown.
Read: Several COVID-19 positive cases across India linked to Nizamuddin gathering
The rest however, travelled back to their home states further causing the rapid spread of infection. Indonesians in Telangana have been identified as the epicenter of the spread in Karimnagar and Erode district appears to be at the centre of COVID-19 surge in Tamil Nadu.
Foreign preachers travelled to different cities including Chennai, Kancheepuram and Thanjavur to work with mosques. Following this on March 16, 10 Indonesians admitted to Gandhi hospital in Hyderabad show COVID-19 symptoms. All of them had attended the gathering.
The TN administration ordered families in and around the Erode mosque to be put under home quarantine as 33 people test positive after attending the conference.
A Madurai resident and a 65-year-old from Tumakuru, Karnataka died later on. They too had come in contact with Islamic preachers who were in attendance in Delhi.
The suspicion became strong when six people died after contracting COVID-19 from the congregation in Telangana. Health department requested the attendees to voluntarily report at hospitals.
According to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain, 24 people who were present at the Markaz building tested positive for coronavirus. Besides, 17 new cases emerged in Andhra Pradesh who were either in attendance or came in close contact of person who attended the meeting.
As the links became clear, Delhi CM called for an emergency meet and sealed off the area. Hundreds of those who were stranded in the mosque, following the lockdown, were whisked away to hospitals.
Another worrying strand that has emerged is that the list of those who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin from Jammu and Kashmir is huge. Clearly, many of them are not in quarantine yet and the administration and police are making efforts to identity, trace and isolate.
It is learnt that the government has prepared a 50-page list of people from J&K who attended the congregation or came in contact with those. Efforts are being made to identify these people and isolate them.
