Coronavirus outbreak: All 107 Tablighi event attendees traced, says Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel

Bhupesh Baghel said the decision to call off the lockdown in state will be taken after discussion and putting in place precautionary measures.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel (Photo | PTI)
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel (Photo | PTI)

RAIPUR: Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said all 107 people who arrived in Chhattisgarh after attending last month's congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Nizamuddin in New Delhi have been identified and placed in quarantine.

Addressing the media through video conferencing, Baghel also said the decision to call off the lockdown in state will be taken after discussion and putting in place precautionary measures.

"None of the Tablighi Jamaat members who attended the Nizamuddin event are missing. All 107 have been identified and quarantined. Their samples are being tested and contact tracing is underway," he said.

When queried that most people mentioned in the list of Nizamuddin event attendees were Hindus, Baghel said, "The Andhra Pradesh SIB had released a list of 159 people (from Chhattisgarh) on the basis of location of mobile phones tracked in the area (Nizamuddin- during the period when the event was held)."

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"The list included names of people from different communities who had only passed through that location. All of them hadn't attended the Nizamuddin event. Later, the Centre gathered information about people who took part in the congregation and identified these 107 people," he added.

The chief minister further said the decision to continue or call off the lockdown will be taken during the state's cabinet meeting on April 12 after getting directions in this regard during a video conference meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled on Saturday.

Baghel advocated that the term 'social distancing' be replaced with 'physical distancing'.

He said the state had adequate number of ventilators as well as quarantine facilities, and tenders to buy PPE kits had been processed.

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