746 coronavirus cases in Delhi are from Nizamuddin Markaz area, says Satyendar Jain

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Monday informed that 746 out of the 1,154 coronavirus cases in the national capital are from the Nizamuddin Markaz area, which emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot after hundreds of people who attended Tablighi Jamaat event last month tested positive for the virus.

Speaking to the media Jain said, "746 patients are from Markaz area and 408 others are from Delhi. There are 1,102 COVID-19 positive patients in the hospitals including 50 who are in ICU and six on ventilator support. If three or more cases are reported in a locality, we declare it a hotspot. We seal the area and sanitise it. Residents of that area are screened. We also started random testing. Rapid testing kits are awaited," he said.

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The minister said that essential services are being allowed in 43 containment zones in Delhi. "Essential services are being allowed in sealed areas. Scanning is being done in hotspot areas. There are 43 containment zones in Delhi today," Jain said.

He also said that the government is increasing the capacity to accommodate coronavirus patients. The minister informed that 180 random samples were collected from Dilshad Garden, a COVID-19 hotspot in the national capital. 

Jain stated that Delhi has received only 13,500 kits so far from the central government. He said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has suggested Prime Minister Narendra Modi extend the lockdown for two more weeks in the country amid surging coronavirus cases.

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Delhi govt replaces 'Markaz' column

The Delhi government on April 11 dropped the name 'Markaz Masjid' from its daily health bulletin of COVID-19 status and replaced the column with 'Special Operation'. The Tablighi Jamaat event, which was held at Markaz building in Delhi's Nizamuddin area last month, emerged as a hotspot for COVID-19 after several positive cases from across India were linked to the gathering.

Replacing 'Markaz Masjid' with 'Special Operations' is a key development as it has come days after the Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) raised the matter with the Health Department asking it to drop any mention of Tablighi Jamaat event in its daily bulletins on COVID-19 cases in Delhi. 

The total number of positive cases in Delhi is 1154 with the death toll of 24. Meanwhile, the total number of Coronavirus cases in India on Sunday climbed to 9152, including 856 cured and 308 deaths, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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(with ANI inputs)