Odisha puts fourth Nizamuddin congregation returnee in isolation

Odisha has identified the fourth person who had travelled back from Hazrat Nizamuddin, attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation and put him under isolation. Meanwhile, as many as 15 Odias are believed to have attended the Tablighi Jamaat at Hazrat Nizamuddin.

Bhubaneswar: Another returnee from Markaz congregation in Delhi's Nizamuddin has been identified by the Odisha government and put under isolation, the fourth from the state coming back from the coronavirus hotspot, official sources said on Wednesday.

The man was picked up from his house on Tuesday night and put in hospital isolation as he comes under the high-risk category for COVID-19 while his family members have been kept under home quarantine, said Kendrapara District Collector Samarth Verma.

We will send his blood sample for the COVID-19 test. If there is any positive signal, those who came in contact with him will be traced," Verma said, adding the police is on the job to ascertain whether any other person from the district had joined the Tablighi Jammat function in Nizamuddin.

With the detection and isolation of Kendrapara man, the state has so far quarantined four Nizamuddin returnees as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of coronavirus. The state government on Tuesday had said that three persons who attended the gathering in the national capital have been quarantined.

The state government's COVID-19 Chief Spokesman Subroto Bagchi said the administration is also trying to identify others who attended the programme early March. The state government will send the blood sample of all the Nizamuddin returnees for the COVID-19 test, an official said.

At least six people from Telangana and one from Jammu and Kashmir, who attended the religious congregation in Delhi, have died due to COVID-19. Besides, over 20 others who had been to the religious meet have tested positive.