New Delhi: Creating panic amid the novel coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc globally, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was detected in Assam on Tuesday, the third such case in the northeastern region after one case each came to light from Manipur and Mizoram.
But of horrifying dimension is the revelation by the government on Tuesday that a total of 299 persons from Assam are reported to have attended the Tableeghi Jamat meet at the Banglewali masjid that began around mid-March in south Delhi’s Nizamuddin locality.
Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted: “A 52-year old person has been found positive for Coronavirus and is Assam's first COVID-19 patient. He is undergoing treatment at Silchar Medical College. His condition is stable.”
There was no confirmation as to whether the 52-year-old had attended the Tableeghi meet, a religious congregation which has become Ground Zero for COVID-19 infections in India after 24 positive cases came to light after a few people from among the about 2,000 people who attended the event were tested.
Read: COVID-19 LIVE: Death toll rises to 38, total active cases 1466
There is the strong likelihood of hundreds of new cases from among the people who attended the event or the countless numbers who frequent the crowded lanes near the area.
The Assam government has claimed that it has tracked down the 299 people from Assam and most of them are believed to still be in Delhi. Instructions have already been issued to the district administrations to check and quarantine those who had gone back.
India witnessed a big spike on Tuesday with the total number of COVID-19 cases inching closer to 1400 with the death toll rising to 35.
On Tuesday, Sarma and a few officials inspected the site of a 300-bed pre-fabricated hospital in North Lakhimpur set up to treat COVID-19 patients.
