An official, on the condition of anonymity told Naya Daur that the 14 days quarantined period of 10 Tablighi Jamaat people is about to end and they are healthy and fit. Some of them are observing fast as well, he said.
An official privy to the arrangements being made by the Islamabad administration to fight coronavirus confirmed that local people have been providing meal and other essential items to the quarantined members of Tabligi Jamaat because the authorities have failed to fulfil their promise of looking after them.
He added that neither are the local people allowed to enter the mosque, nor the quarantined people can come outside.
Further, he said that some Tableeghi Jamaat members who have completed their quarantine term are unclear as to when they will be allowed to go back to their homes. Although some quarantined members are healthy, some coronavirus-positive individuals of Tableeghi Jamaat have also been placed in the same quarantine centre.
Assistant Commissioner Islamabad Omer Randhawa told Naya Daur that it was the health department’s prerogative to decide when the quarantined Jamaat people will be moving for clearance test.
According to official statistics, as many as 62 Islamabad residents were tested positive for coronavirus, and two of them are in critical conditions. It is reported that some Tablighi Jamaat people were initial carrier of the coronavirus and are responsible for the sudden surge in cases of coronavirus in the capital.
When asked about the role of Tablighi Jamaat people in spread of coronavirus in Islamabad, he said that the Raiwind Ijtima, scheduled from March 11 to March 15 in Raiwind, Lahore, was being attended by many Jamaat members from Islamabad.
But when the government of Punjab cancelled it following the outbreak of the deadly virus, the Tableeghi Jamaat members from Islamabad travelled back to the city, but they did not go through any screening and were not aware of preventive measures. A few of them were later tested positive for coronavirus and are placed under quarantine to check the spread of the virus, he told Naya Daur.
He acknowledged that the administration’s inability to screen the patients travelling from one city to another led to the spread of the virus.
When asked about placing coronvirus positive and negative Jamaat people at the same place, he said that the administration initially sealed the area for two weeks on the request of district health officer for screening of the area to prevent the spread of virus the and same procedure has been followed in the case of Kot Hayathal village incident. After 14 days, the authorities will decide if the quarantined individuals should be allowed to go.
Out of 10 Tablighi Jamaat people, five were tested positive for coronavirus and five others negative. The local health department in coordination with district administration and police has sealed the mosque for any kind of movement.
The assistant commissioner said rural areas and katchi abadis of Islamabad more affected so far.
According to national command and operations centre covid-19 national update, Islamabad has a total 62 confirmed cases, of which two are in critical condition. The number of deaths from coronavirus in the capital was eight till the filing of this report.
According to different media reports, approximately six people of Tablighi Jamaat have tested positive for coronavirus. When the assistant commissioner was asked for confirmed number of Tablighi Jamaat patients in Islamabad, he was unable to give any figure.