Nearly 75 Children In Tamil Nadu, AP Coronavirus Positive After Coming In Contact With Tablighi Jamaat Attendees

The Tablighi Jamaat Aalami Markaz Nizamuddin congregations last month in Delhi have become the source of Coronavirus (Covid-19) for nearly 75 children in the southern states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh so far.

The New Indian Express reported that 40 children in Andhra Pradesh between three and 17 years of age had tested positive for the pandemic virus.

It quoted officials saying that the children had got infected after coming in contact with their family members who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregations at the Nizamuddin Markaz or the Banglewali Masjid.

It also said that 25 children in Telangana had tested positive for Covid-19. Though officials are keeping tight-lipped over the source of infection, sources, not wishing to identify, say that these have been traced to the families where one of the members had attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregations.

In Tamil Nadu, 33 children have tested positive for the pandemic virus with the Government saying that they had got infected from the “single source”.

Since last week, Tamil Nadu has begun using the jargon “single source” for cases traced to the Nizamuddin Markaz events in Delhi.

Telangana Minister K T Rama Rao, son of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, told the media that the Banglewali Masjid congregations made up over 70 per cent of the Coronavirus cases in his State.

Andhra Pradesh, too, has nearly 80 per cent of the cases traced to the Tablighi Jamaat events, though the State Government has not provided exact details.

The fact that most of the hotspots in the State are related to the Nizamuddin congregations is proof of the fact. Andhra Pradesh has 525 Covid-19 positive cases, while Telangana 647.

In Tamil Nadu, of the 1,242 Coronavirus cases, 1,117 have been traced to the Tabligh Jamaat Nizamudding events. While 14 persons have succumbed to the pandemic each in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, 18 have died in Telangana.

The problem with Coronavirus in children is that symptoms among children are milder. Thus, there is a danger of them passing the virus on to others.

A BBC report said that data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that children under 19 years of age consisted of 2% of the 72,314 Covid-19 cases until 20 February.

It also said that a US study of 508 patients showed no fatality among children, who made up less than one per cent of the patients in hospital.

The US Center for Diseases Control and Prevention says that based on available evidence, children do not appear to be at higher risk for COVID-19 than adults.