New Delhi: More than a hundred people have tested positive for coronavirus and a nationwide manhunt is on for suspected cases after a large religious gathering at Delhi’s Nizamuddin that has emerged as a virus hotspot with links to seven COVID-19 deaths. The gathering, which featured sermons, was attended by Tablighi members from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Nepal, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Saudi Arabia. Members had also come from Afghanistan, Algeria, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, Fiji, France and Kuwait.

The Delhi government evacuated nearly 2100 people from Markaz Nizamuddin, the Delhi head quarters of Tablighi Jamaat group, since Sunday. Out of them atleast 441 people have shown symptoms of the Covid-19 in Delhi. Hundreds of people had been staying at the facility for weeks, in the middle of a National Lockdown.

The Delhi government sent over 1100 people now quarantined in different parts of the city and lanes near the Markaz Nizamuddin center have been taped off by officials in Hazmat Suits.  A police case has been filed against the mosque administration. The home ministry has instructed states to track down Tablighi members who travelled to various parts of the country after the two-day gathering on March 8-10.

The Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic missionary movement set up in 1926, with members across the world. Similar events held in Malaysia and Pakistan in February-March have been linked to virus cases. 300 foreigners who were on tourist visa and attended the religious event, face blacklisting. The government has also decided to not issue tourist visa to any foreigner who wishes to visit India and take part in Tablighi Jamaat activities, officials said.  According to the home ministry sources, ignoring all social distancing rules to avoid the deadly corona virus, hundreds had been staying in the 100-year-old mosque complex, which has a six-floor dormitory, since March 8. On March 21, there were 1,746 in the centre and 216 were foreigners.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, the Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Aggarwal said that “we all need to understand and appreciate that this is not the time to do fault finding. What is important for us is to take action as per our containment process in whatever areas we find a case.”

The persons who attended the gathering 50 have tested positive in Tamil Nadu, 24 in Delhi, 21 in Telangana, 18 in Andhra Pradesh, 10 in Andamans and one each in Assam and Kashmir. 824 foreigners had also travelled to different states and their details had been shared with the police chiefs, the home ministry said.

The government says 2,137 members of Tabligh have been identified in different states and are being medically examined and quarantined. A search is on for members who returned to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Andamans. Six people have died in Telangana. A man who died in Srinagar had visited the Deoband seminary in UP. Ten more, who returned to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, have tested positive. 1,800 are quarantined in Andamans. More than 100 people from Kashmir attended the gathering and Andhra Pradesh is trying to trace 700 members.