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Tablighi Jamaat’s Maulana Saad had mocked calls to close mosques amidst coronavirus lockdown, said mosque gathering would rather help Muslims

OpIndia Staff
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Tablighi Jamaat’s Maulana Saad had mocked calls to close mosques amidst coronavirus lockdown, said mosque gathering would rather help Muslims

A shocking audio clip from the Nizamuddin Markaz has emerged where the Tablighi Jamaat chief Maulana Saad can be heard mocking the government’s call to close mosques and other religious places in a bid to contain the spread of Chinese coronavirus.

The above audio was recorded at the Nizamuddin Markaz on 23 March, 2020, one day after the Janta Curfew was observed and a day before the country-wide lockdown was announced.

Maulana Saad while instigating Muslims gathered there to defy the lockdown orders says that this is the time to go to mosques. At around 5 minutes into the video, he says, “This is the time to fill the mosques. I have been saying this since beginning that this is the time to fill up the mosques. Do not come into the talks to empty the mosques. In fact, it is the time to increases the mosques.

Read: “Quran mentions Coronavirus, Allah has sent it to the world to see who survives”, Burkha clad women make bizarre claims

At around 8 minute into the video, Saad says, “Those who have no faith in Allah, through these schemes and excuses of trying to save Muslims from the disease are trying to keep us away. They have found an excuse to keep Muslims away from coming here. They want to put this fear in the Muslims that those who gather in huge numbers can get infected. The disease will pass but the fear will not. This is a tactic to create fear amongst the Muslims and to end the love and brotherhood Muslims have amongst each other. This is a program created. This program is created against Muslims to make them appear ‘untouchables’. They think this is a good excuse to do this. There is no problem in staying away from those who have caught the infection. But Muslims should not meet Muslims? This is ‘jihalat‘.”

Amidst the sounds of coughing from the congregation, Maulana Saad continues, “This is the time to gather Muslims and come. Try and bring the followers of Allah closer to Allah.”

Read: Coronavirus outbreak: After spitting on the road, Tablighi Jamaat members kept in quarantine centres throw tantrums, abuse officials and spit on doctors

“This is not the time to leave mosques and disperse. Why did people believe that gathering in group will spread coronavirus? Why did people not believe that if we come together then Allah will send angels and with the help of angels the peace will return to the world,” Maulana Saad, the chief of Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin which has emerged as the latest hot spot for coronavirus infection had said while mocking the government’s calls to close mosques and other religious places to avoid huge gatherings.

At around 41 seconds into the video, Maulana Saad asks the Jamaatis gathered where will they run from death. Death is walking ahead of you. “Allah has kept death ahead of us in Quran. Death is in front of you. You can’t run from it. Hence keep your head cool at such time and listen to Allah,” he says. “If you run away at this time, then Allah will be angry,” Saad said.

He further instigates the Jamaatis to not listen to doctors. At around 3 minutes 30 seconds into the video, Maulana Saad says, “If you start listening to doctors and stop doing the namaaz and stop meeting people… yes, so you are sick, then pray to the 70,000 angels. Why are you not having faith in the angels? How will you be cured by taking medicines from doctor if you cannot be saved by the 70,000 angels? This is not the time to stay away and be afraid.”

The Delhi Police on Wednesday evacuated as many as 2,100 Muslims who were living inside the Nizamuddin Markez, many of whom were foreign nationals. The Islamic preachers had gathered for the three-day event in March. Dozens of coronavirus positive cases across country could be traced to the Tablighi Jamaat. While some have been traced, many are untraceable. Maulana Saad, himself, has been absconding.

Uttar Pradesh: Two families name their newborns ‘Lockdown’ and ‘Corona’

OpIndia Staff
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Uttar Pradesh: Two families name their newborns ‘Lockdown’ and ‘Corona’

At a time when the entire world is virtually waging a war against the deadly Wuhan Coronavirus, which has globally infected more than 8.80 lac people, and the country is under complete lockdown, two families in Uttar Pradesh have named their babies ‘Corona’ and ‘Lockdown’ with a hope that they would remind people about obeying guidelines during the pandemic.

A baby girl born in Gorakhpur on the day of ‘Janta Curfew’ on March 22 has also been named ‘Corona’.

The baby boy ‘Lockdown’ was born at the District Hospital on Tuesday according to reports. The father of the newborn, Pawan Kumar, a resident of Khukhundu village in the Deoria district, said that he had been ”inspired greatly” by the lockdown.

“He was born during the lockdown. We appreciate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s efforts to enforce lockdown and save the people from Corona pandemic. The lockdown is in the national interest and so we decided to name the child as Lockdown,” said the baby boy’s father Pawan.

Pawan said that he and his family have been observing the lockdown and have even asked their relatives not to visit them until the lockdown is lifted. “We have even postponed the celebrations and rituals for the newborn till the lockdown in force,” he said.

Meanwhile, the baby girl born in Sohgaura village, Gorakhpur on the day of ”Janata Curfew, was named ”Corona” by her uncle. The uncle, Nitesh Tripathi, said that he decided to name the baby after the deadly virus because ”Corona” has unified the world on this issue.

Tripathi said that he had taken permission from the new born’s mother, Ragini Tripathi, before naming the baby. “The virus is no doubt dangerous and it has killed so many people in the world, but it has also inculcated many good habits in us and brought the world closer. This baby will be the symbol of people’s unity to fight the evil,” he said.

China deliberately glossed over the magnitude of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak: US Intelligence report

OpIndia Staff
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China deliberately glossed over the magnitude of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak: US Intelligence report

A classified report submitted by the US intelligence community to Washington has concluded that China had intentionally concealed the extent of Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, under-reporting the numbers of those who contracted the infection as well as the number of fatalities due to the novel COVID-19, said a report by Bloomberg. The officials, privy to the details of the secret report said that the study on the number of cases reported by China has concluded that the numbers released by Beijing do not correspond to reality.

According to the figures released by China, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country reported was a paltry 82,000 while the total number of deaths in China due to COVID-19 was 3,300. The US intelligence community has juxtaposed the data provided by China with the data of New York coronavirus outbreak which has so far witnessed 1,89,000 cases and 4,000 deaths already. The Intelligence community claim that the disproportionately low numbers of infection and deaths in China, the country where the virus is believed to have originated, indicate that the Communist Party of China has studiously hidden the true count of infections and fatalities in Mainland China.

While analysts believe that China has been more effective than democratic nations in suppressing the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus, attributing the feat to the unfettered centralisation of power enjoyed by the Communist Party of China. However, they too have a sceptical view of the numbers of infections and casualties put forth by China. The Chinese government’s nebulous methodology to ascertain the number of COVID-19 cases has also added to the scepticism. On Tuesday, it added more than 1,500 asymptomatic cases to its total.

The report was received by the White House last week, one of the officials said. According to the report, heaps of thousands of urns outside funeral homes in Hubei province have seeded doubts about China’s real tally of those who have perished from the virus.

As per the State Department immunologist Deborah Birx, who is advising the White House on its response to the outbreak, China’s numbers have played a pivotal role in shaping assumptions about the nature of the virus across the world.

“When the medical community interpreted the data that emerged from China, everybody inferred that this pandemic is serious but the numbers are less than expected,” Birx said at a news conference on Tuesday while adding, ” Perhaps because we were missing a significant amount of the data. Now that the data is coming out from Spain and Italy, we can reasonably assume that Chinese numbers are suspicious.”

China is not the only country whose public reporting is under suspicion. The numbers coming from Iran, Russia, Indonesia and especially North Korea, where not a single case of the disease has been reported are also under the scanner of the western scrutiny. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries may also be widely downplaying their numbers, the western analysts believe.

Not a single Railway passenger lost their life due to train accidents in the last 12 months: Railway Minister

OpIndia Staff
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Not a single Railway passenger lost their life due to train accidents in the last 12 months: Railway Minister

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has claimed that the first time in the history of railways not a single passenger lost their lives in the last one year and thereby he is ensuring to be working against the COVID-19 so that no one loses their life due to epidemic.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal took to twitter saying “For the first time in history, not a single passenger lost their lives in the last twelve months in a railway accident. Now we are working to make sure no Indian loses their life due to COVID-19.”

In 2019-20, the railways have recorded zero deaths, while the last year 2018-19, the railways recorded 16 deaths. The numbers were 28 in 2017-18 and 195 in 2016-17.

Railway accidents include collision, derailment, fire, level crossing accidents, and other miscellaneous accidents.

The Indian railways are also playing a very valuable role in combatting the deadly contagion called coronavirus which has dragged the world into a severe lockdown, by converting its coaches into isolation wards for the treatment of coronavirus patients. 5,000 railway coaches have been modified to set up isolation facility. Indian Railways is also setting up 3.2 lakh isolation and quarantine beds and 20,000 coaches being modified in the process.

The northern railway workshops have geared up to overcome the deadly epidemic by increasing the manufacturing of equipment and medical facilities. Railways are trying to maintain high-level sanitation to combat the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic: Worst may be over for Italy as the number of deaths show a declining trend

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus pandemic: Worst may be over for Italy as the number of deaths show a declining trend

Three weeks after the imposition of lockdown in Italy, the number of new coronavirus cases, severe infections and Covid-19-related deaths, all are hinting towards an optimistic trend, suggesting that the country may have well passed its worst crisis since the World War II. After weeks of a sharp surge in the number of coronavirus patients, the data this week offer a glimmer of hope as the growth in infection is slowing, signifying that the pandemic is on the wane.

In a press conference on Sunday, the Italian government adviser Luca Richeldi stated that the number of new people taken to intensive care dropped each day from Saturday from 124 on Saturday to 50 on Sunday. New cases on Sunday also dropped to 5217 from 5974 a day before. There is also a drop in the mortality rate, from a record 919 deaths on Friday to 756 deaths on Sunday.

Italy has endured the world’s deadliest outbreak of the respiratory pandemic, with 62% of the fatalities registered in Lombardy, the country’s most populous and wealthy region. More than 12,000 people in Italy have already died of the contagion that first emanated from one of the wet markets in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and has now paralysed a large number of countries across the world.

Though the numbers are inspiring, the Italians, having experienced the worst, are taking it with a pinch of salt. Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Wednesday that the restrictions imposed last month are extended for another two weeks till April 13.

“We must not be complacent and mistake the first positive signals with an ‘all clear’ signal. Data shows that we are on the right track and the imposition of harsh measures is yielding the desired results,” Speranza told the upper house Senate. She further added that the battle against the infection is still very long.

In its peak, Italy had come to personify the severity of the threat posed by Wuhan coronavirus. The public health system was overstretched as the number of coronavirus patients in Italy swelled alarmingly. The healthcare professionals were faced with the grim dilemma of prioritising who should get access to the limited number of ventilators at their disposal, resulting in large-scale mortality.

However, the encouraging numbers coming out of Italy offers a beacon of hope for the rest of the world that the contagion, if not clinically treated yet, can at least be subdued, if the countries that are facing the wrath of the virus, act swiftly and implement extensive lockdown measures before the virus hollows out the country’s public health system.

Coronavirus: Gita Ramjee, an eminent South African virologist of Indian origin succumbs to the infection taking the death toll in the country to 5

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus: Gita Ramjee, an eminent South African virologist of Indian origin succumbs to the infection taking the death toll in the country to 5

Renowned virologist Gita Ramjee has become the first Indian origin South African to have died after contracting the Novel Coronavirus which has by far killed five people in the country. According to the country’s Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, Ramjee had underlying chronic asthma and hypertension. The chairperson of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has claimed that Gita had been infected with the Novel Coronavirus, however, her medical report is yet to come. 

Gita Ramjee, a vaccine scientist and an HIV prevention research leader, had returned from London a week ago but reportedly showed no symptoms of COVID-19.

“We are deeply saddened to inform you of the tragic passing of Professor Gita Ramjee in hospital today,” a statement issued by the president and chief executive officer of the council, Glenda Gray said, confirming that “Professor Ramjee died of COVID-19 related complications.”

Gita Ramjee, who lived in KwaZulu Natal, Durban, South Africa, was the clinical trials unit principal investigator and unit director of the HIV Prevention Research Unit of the South African Medical Research Council and the Chief Scientific Officer at the Aurum Institute.

She received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the International Microbicide Conference in 2012. She was also presented with the Outstanding Female Scientist Award in Lisbon by the European Development Clinical Trials Partnerships in 2018.

The award was given for her lifetime commitment to finding new HIV prevention methods, which are conducive to the lifestyles, circumstances and perceived risk factors for South African women. “This award is an acknowledgement of the unwavering determination by a global community to forever change the trajectory of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,” Ramjee had said at the time.

Ramjee’s funeral is yet to be announced since attendance at funerals in South Africa is highly restricted and requires permits after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a 21-day lockdown last week.

South Africa now has 1353 confirmed cases of infection and as many as five people have died from COVID-19 so far.

Over one-third of total coronavirus positive cases in India linked to the Tablighi Jamaat

OpIndia Staff
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Over one-third of total coronavirus positive cases in India linked to the Tablighi Jamaat

Over one-third COVID-19 positive cases in India can be linked to the Tablighi Jamaat event in New Delhi. As per the ministry updates, this also includes 14 deaths including 2 foreign nationals.

The Union Health Ministry has confirmed 1,637 positive cases of Coronavirus infection in the country and 38 casualties as on 1 April 2020. The government said that the number of Novel coronavirus cases spiked yesterday mainly because of the religious congregation of Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area. A total of 386 people were found infected with the deadly virus since yesterday. 7,688 Tablighi members were traced on Wednesday, of which 171 tested positive.

Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal, while addressing the press along with the other officials of the home ministry said that the steep increase in the coronavirus cases is mainly because of Tablighi Jamaat-organized religious congregation that took place at Alami Markaz in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin area earlier this month.

Agarwal said, “As several people who had attended the religious congregation in the national capital, have returned to their respective hometowns, the state governments have been asked to initiate rigorous contact tracing and containment strategies.”

Agarwal asserted that 1800 people related to Tablighi Jamaat have been sent under isolation to 9 hospitals and quarantine centers. States have been tasked to carry out intensive drives to ensure tests of those who came in contact with the affected people. The Joint Secretary urged the people to follow guidelines during the lockdown period and avoid congregations and religious gatherings reiterating that social distancing is the best solution to win against the deadly epidemic of COVID-19.

Read- Coronavirus outbreak: After spitting on the road, Tablighi Jamaat members kept in quarantine centres throw tantrums, abuse officials and spit on doctors

Health Ministry spokesperson informed that 5,000 coaches of Indian Railways have been modified to set up quarantine facilities, and the Indian Railways is also setting up 3.2 lakh isolation and quarantine beds and 20,000 coaches being modified in the process. The states and Union Territories are ensuring the delivery of essential services and items. The officials confirmed that 21,486 relief camps have been set up across the country and 6,75,133 have been provided shelter. 25 lakh people are being provided with daily meals.

While addressing the media persons at the same forum, the Indian Council Medical Research official said that 47,951 tests for COVID-19 have been conducted in the country so far out of which 4,562 tests were done at ICMR network labs. 

Journalist Sakshi Joshi claims that Tirumala Tirupati temple was quietly shut after the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was caught: Here is how she is wrong

OpIndia Staff
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Journalist Sakshi Joshi claims that Tirumala Tirupati temple was quietly shut after the Tablighi Jamaat congregation was caught: Here is how she is wrong

Journalist Sakshi Joshi today took to Twitter to annunciate that the Tirumala Tirupati temple has discreetly shut the temple doors following the police crackdown on Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, which has emerged as the latest hotspot for the contagion in India. Sharing a report by India Today titled: “Covid-19: First time in 128 years, Tirumala Tirupati temple closes doors to pilgrims”, Sakshi further insinuates that the temple shutting its doors for the public is a shame as it would continue to offer pooja in seclusion.

Twitter going by the handle @attomeybharti was, however, quick to school the journalist. Sharing snapshots of an article by The Hindu Business Line, dated March 19, Bharti confirmed that what Sakshi Joshi was insinuating was fake news as the temple had closed on March 19 itself in view of the countrywide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The India Today report which Sakshi had shared to authenticate her claims, had only stated that the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam board which manages the hill abode of Lord Venkateswara had decided to continue the suspension of the Srivari (Lord) darshan at Srivari temple (main temple) for pilgrims till April 14, in view of the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, however, it nowhere mentioned when the temple had shut, and does not say that it was shut after the Tablighi Jamaat incident.

Since this report by India Today was published on March 31, Sakshi promptly connected it to the Tablighi Jamaat event. Had she done a little bit of research she would not make a fool of herself on the social media platform. There are not one but umpteen reports on the internet which show that the temple was closed for devotees more than ten days ago.

Snapshot of an article by The Economic Times dated March 19, 2020

Snapshot of an article by The Deccan Herald dated March 20, 2020

It is pertinent to note here that while the Tirumala Tirupati temple had shut its doors for its pilgrims on March 19, the police crackdown on Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi’s Nizamuddin happened only two days back. So Sakshi’s claims that the temple slyly shut in the backdrop of the Nizamuddin clampdown is a complete fabrication of facts.

For the uninitiated, journalist Sakshi Joshi has earlier too, tried to pull off such dirty tricks. Along with her husband and filmmaker Vinod Kapri, Sakshi had accused journalist Abhishek Upadhyay of conspiring to get Kapri killed and filed an FIR against him accusing him of writing a Facebook post, alleging that he has indulged in her character assassination.

Her bogus claim followed journalist Abhishek Upadhyay claims that filmmaker Vinod Kapri had faked an adoption story for self-promotion and to promote his movie-Pihu. He had also alleged that a company named “Bhagirathi Films Private Limited” privately owned by the husband-wife duo could be a front for money laundering.

Coronavirus outbreak: After spitting on the road, Tablighi Jamaat members kept in quarantine centres throw tantrums, abuse officials and spit on doctors

OpIndia Staff
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Coronavirus outbreak: After spitting on the road, Tablighi Jamaat members kept in quarantine centres throw tantrums, abuse officials and spit on doctors

The Tablighi Jamaat members who were shifted to quarantine facilities in Delhi after exhibiting symptoms of Covid-19 behaved in an unruly manner with the facility staff and doctors, says CPRO Northern Railway Deepak Kumar. According to Kumar, occupants made unreasonable demands for food, misbehaved and abused staff members and started spitting all over and on persons working/attending them, including doctors. They also started roaming around the hostel building.

Yesterday, about 167 members of Tablighi Jamaat residing at Nizamuddin Markaz were transported in 5 buses to Tughalakabad Quarantine Centre. 97 of them were accommodated in Diesel Shed Training School Hostel Quarantine Centre and remaining 70 were accommodated at RPF Barrack Quarantine Centre.

However, today morning they started throwing tantrums, making preposterous demands for food and behaved badly with the staff members. They also attempted to spread the potential coronavirus to doctors and other medical healthcare workers who were attending to them by spitting at them.

It is pertinent to note that these Tablighi Jamaat members were yesterday seen spitting out on roads when they were being transported to quarantine facilities for their treatment. As per an Aaj Tak report, an official who was monitoring the transportation of suspected COVID-19 cases from Markaz Nizamuddin, the Delhi headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat, said claimed that the Muslim clerics in the bus were spitting out on the roads of Delhi, potentially spreading the virus in other areas of Delhi. In order to avoid the spread of the virus, the official then ordered the Muslim clerics to shut the bus windows.

A couple of days ago, the role of Tablighi Jamaat in the spreading of the Wuhan Coronavirus across numerous states of India had come to light. Muslim clerics of Tablighi Jamaat organised a congregation in violation of the government’s lockdown orders, providing a conducive environment for the novel coronavirus to proliferate. As per conservative estimates, the congregation organised by Tablighi Jamaat was attended by 1500 people, both from various parts of the country as well as from abroad. 10 people who attended the congregation had died of COVID-19. Despite overt symptoms of coronavirus, the rabid Islamists of Tablighi Jamaat have shown a recalcitrant attitude to cooperate with the authorities and a malevolent desire to infect those who are helping them to fight the contagion.

FIRs filed against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news about Yogi Adityanath

OpIndia Staff
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FIRs filed against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news about Yogi Adityanath

Two FIRs has been registered against The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan for spreading fake news against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Varadarajan, in a bid to whitewash the deeds of Tablighi Jamaat, had wrongly attributed a fake quote to the UP CM.

Mrityunjay Kumar, the media advisor to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, informed that despite the warning from the state government, Varadarajan neither deleted the false article and nor apologised for the same. Therefore, an FIR has been registered against him and actions been taken as warned earlier. “If you are also thinking about Yogi government kindly remove such thinking from your brain”, Kumar warned others about spreading fake news about UP govt.

As soon as the news of Tablighi Jamaat in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin emerged as the newest hotspot for coronavirus outbreak, the ‘liberals’ huddled up to absolve the congregation of defying orders and putting public health and safety at risk.

At 12:45 AM on 31 March 2020, The Wire Founder-Editor Siddharth Varadarajan tweeted a link claiming that the Nehru Stadium in Delhi will be converted into quarantine facility. While sharing it, Varadarajan attributed a quote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Varadarajan claimed that on the day Tablighi Jamaat event was being held, “Adityanath insisted a large Ram Navami fair planned for Ayodhya from March 25 to April 2 would proceed as usual and that ‘Lord Ram would protect devotees from the coronavirus”.

Siddharth Varadarajan’s tweet attributing fake quote to Yogi Adityanath

The Founder-Editor of The Wire took quotes of an expelled mahant and misattributed them to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to whitewash the Tablighi Jamaat superspreaders.

After Varadarjan’s tweet, Mrityunjay Kumar had tweeted saying that CM Yogi Adityanath has not made any such comment. ‘Delete it else actions will be taken against it and defamation proceedings will also be initiated. After that you will be forced to beg for donations for legal case along with donations for the website’, the CM’s media adviser had tweeted referring to The Wire asking for donations from the public.

https://twitter.com/MrityunjayUP/status/1245226821643194368

The second FIR was filed in Ayodhya police station for the fake tweet posted by the Wire editor. The FIR filed by one Harbhajan Gaud says that Varadarjan had posted the fake tweet to defame UP CM Yogi Adityanath and the Uttar Pradesh govt.

The Tablighi Jamaat has emerged as the latest hotspot after dozens of COVID-19 positive cases were traced back to Nizamuddin in Delhi where hundreds of Muslims had gathered on 21 March 2020 for three-day Islamic evangelical event. As of 1st April, 2100 Muslims were evacuated from the building in Nizamuddin and sent to isolation ward. Investigation is currently underway and efforts are being made to trace those who had attended as well as those who had come in contact with them.

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