New Delhi: At least 2,361 people have been evacuated from Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz after 24 people from the area had tested positive for coronavirus Tuesday evening.
This large-scale evacuation at the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters took over 36 hours, and came as 10 people died from Covid-19 after attending the Jamaat’s congregation from 13 March to 15 March.
Soon after, officials cordoned off the area, transporting people from there in as many as 35 DTC buses on Tuesday.
At the site, a police official who did not wish to be named told ThePrint that the building has been locked and everyone has been evacuated.
Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister in a tweet Wednesday said out of the 2,361 people, 617 suspected coronavirus-positive patients have been admitted to the hospital and the rest are in quarantine.
SDMC officials (South Delhi Municipal Corporation) were spotted spraying disinfectants in the entire area. The hazmat suits were immediately removed after the spraying, with officials saying they would be disposed of by burning them.
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‘Situation under control’
Delhi Police officials at the site said they had been provided with protective gear while they were evacuating the area. “We received hazmat suits, sanitisers, masks and gloves before evacuating the area,” Suraj Kumar, Delhi Civil Service, told ThePrint.
When asked about the status of contact tracing, Kumar said, “The situation is under control.
“The area nearby hasn’t been evacuated yet, we are checking on the people who had gone to the Markaz to provide essential services in the last few days. We have a list of 98 people so far,” he added.
Police officials said these 98 people also included those who had visited the mosque in the Markaz area in the last few days, and they were all were being checked for symptoms.
Nizamuddin Neighbourhood
A petrol pump over 300 m away from the site was empty and the workers claimed that they were afraid of contracting the virus. Despite being the nearest petrol pump to the coronavirus hotspot, workers there said that officials had not enquired about their health so far.
A chemist shop in the middle of posh Nizamuddin West was running out of masks, so they started selling surgical masks instead. “The neighbourhood here is not worried, we think of ourselves as different from the Nizamuddin Markaz area,” the shopkeeper said.
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