The premature release of the people from the quarantine in Tirupattur district of Tamil Nadu has brought huge risk to the sitting ADMK ministers as one among the released people had now tested positive for the virus and the patient had come in direct contact with the state minister leaving the entire state cabinet to stay vigil.

When we inquired about the developments, our sources say the health officials of the district had put about 52 people, who attended the Tablighi Jamaat Conference in Delhi, under quarantine on April 3rd and most of them had gone through the testing to ascertain whether they carry symptoms of the virus. However, the initial results returned negative.

By citing the Shab-E-Barat festival (Mid-Sha'ban), State Minister of Labour and sitting MLA of Vaniyambadi constituency, Dr. Nilofer Kafeel has asked the district collector to release the quarantined people in the wake of marking the festival following which the collector and district health officials discharged them prematurely - without completing the quarantine tenure of 14 days.

Our sources stated that the minister came in person and met the people on April 9th during which she exchanged greetings and hugged the women who were in quarantine only for six days. The premature release had gone to the attention of the state health department and all the people have again gone through the testing after which it came to the revelation that one among them contracted the virus after the samples returned positive levying a fresh burden to the health officials as they ought to trace the contacts.

According to the developments, the positive result came on April 13th. However, Minister Kafeel had reached Chennai on April 10th and she participated in the cabinet meeting on April 11th in the secretariat that was convened by Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami. After knowing that one of the people whom she greeted tested positive, Kafeel has been under self-quarantine and it has originated the fear that whether the cabinet ministers could have developed symptoms through her presence in the cabinet meeting. The Chief Minister has directed the ministers to stay vigil and careful.

The sources said that Minister Kafeel has been eyeing to lower the criticism from her own community against her on supporting CAA, NRC, and NPR. With the view of that, she had ordered the district administration to release the patients in the wake of the religious festival. However, the premature release had now added a fresh challenge to the state mechanisms in combating the spread of the virus.