BackCovid-19: Samples of 700 people linked to Nizamuddin event collected in AP
43 people, linked to the attendees of the religious congregation at the Markaz Nizamuddin, test positive for covid-19 in APAP govt identifies 1,085 people from the state who attended a religious gathering at the Alami Markaz Banglewali mosque, which was organized by the Tabhligi Jamat last month
PremiumHYDERABAD : Sixty seven people tested positive for the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases to 111. All the fresh cases are linked to the attendees of the religious congregation at the Markaz Nizamuddin in Delhi. The AP government on Wednesday said that it has collected samples of 700 people who attended the congregation, and those associated with them.
The AP government has identified 1,085 people from the state who attended the Ijtema (religious gathering) at the Alami Markaz Banglewali mosque, which was organized by the Tabhligi Jamat (sect of Sunni Islam) organised last month. Officials from the AP police and health department are tracking all of those who attended the religious congregation and their associates.
All the 43 who tested positive are all linked (either attended or associated to the attendees) congregation organized by the Tabhligi Jamat at Nizamuddin between 13-15 March. Not only that, a whopping 64 of the 87 positive covid-19 cases are of people who went to Delhi, while four are of those who are associated with them.
The bulletin from the Andhra Pradesh government stated that a total of 373 samples were sent for tests, of which 43 came back positive on Wednesday. Most of those who tested positive are from Kadapa (which has a considerable number of Muslims) and West Godavari district in AP.
“We are tracking down people who had attended the meeting in Delhi and are sending their samples for tests," said a government official from AP. A day earlier, 17 people had tested positive for COVID, of which most people had also attended the same meeting.
Meanwhile, in the neighbouring state of Telangana, 15 more people who had got to the Nizamuddin Markaz meeting in Delhi had tested positive for COVID on Tuesday, taking the total cases to 97 in the state.
The AP government on Tuesday also passed an order deferring 100% of payment of salaries of chief minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the state’s MLAs, MLCs, all elected members of local bodies (and people holding equivalent positions and members of all state corporations. The decision was made given that all revenue streams of AP have dried up due to the lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID) pandemic.
According to the government order, dated 31 March, the salaries of IAS/IPS/IFS officers in the state will also be deferred by 60%, while all the government employees (except class-4 employees), including work-charged employees and persons engaged through a third party will also have their salaries/wages/remuneration slashed by 50% in the state. Class-4 employees however will see a reduction by 10% in their salaries.
Two days earlier on Monday, Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR), anticipating a tough economic climate ahead in view of the lock down, also announced a salary cut of 75% for himself, the state’s MLAs, MLCs, state corporation chairpersons and representatives of other local bodies.
The pay-cut was also extended to IAS/IPS/IFS and other such central government services officers who will see their salaries coming down by 60%, while all other category of employees will see their salaries halved.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
