Tablighi Jamaat, the Islamic missionary movement that focuses on practicing the religion, has now become the prime focus in the country after the conference organized by the religious center has turned out to be the new epicenter for the Coronavirus as most of the affected cases and deaths that were reported so far in the country had linked directly or indirectly to the conference that took place in Nizamuddin in Delhi earlier this month.

The conference which normally accounts for the huge gathering at the densely populated area has let Nizamuddin in becoming the Indian counterpart for the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus originated in the late last year before paralyzing the world. Wuhan has previously held the tag of the global epicenter for the epidemic that has now passed on to Italy and sooner to the United States. 

The conference had attended by thousands of people from various nations including Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Kyrgyzstan in March when India has been strengthening its mechanisms to combat the virus and shockingly, the attendees of the conference including asymptomatic people have scattered across Indian states and major cities shaping the pandemic as a national threat. The Jamaat reportedly hosted the congregations for their preachers and followers in Delhi and the movement, which has its presence globally, had organized similar congregations in Lahore and Malaysia. 

After the conference, they traveled and arrived in many Indian cities and now, after it came to the revelation that most of the cases have a direct linkage to the conference, the government has been burdened to trace the people who have attended the conference or came to the direct contact with the attendees. The conference was organized in Nizamuddin Markaz Masjid in Delhi between March 8 and 15 and following the conference, the Indian Nationals have returned to their home states by taking the foreign participants with them to work in the mosques. 

The result and the sequel of such a large gathering amid the outbreak and restrictions came on March 16  after the group of ten Indonesians had admitted to the isolation ward at Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana as one among them had developed the symptoms for the virus. The next day, on March 17, one has tested positive for the virus and on March 18, seven others were tested positive for the pandemic. On March 22, Tamil Nadu has reported with two cases as two Thailand nationals who attended the conference were tested positive for the virus in Erode and they have currently been treated at Perundurai hospital.

All these foreign nationals have participated in the Jamaat conference. The reports stated that around 50 preachers from Indonesia, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan arrived to work in the mosques in many districts in Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Thanjavur, Salem, and Kancheepuram. One group had arrived in Erode on March 11 from Delhi and two Thai nationals were tested positive for the virus making them as case numbers 5 and 6 in Tamil Nadu and as of Tuesday morning, the state reported with 74 cases positive for the virus and Erode has the most number of cases in the state as the district has nearly 20 cases and all of them confirmed positive for the virus after coming in a contact with Thai Nationals directly and indirectly and they have been getting treated at the IRT Perundurai. The Erode district collector said that 33 people from the district had participated in the Jamaat conference in Delhi.

From there, the numbers multiplied into doubled and tripled to nearby districts. A 54-year-old man who died due to the virus on last Wednesday (March 25th) in Madurai has become the first fatality in the state and he was said to have attended the conference in Delhi and he had come to the direct contact with the two Thai Nationals and now, after his demise, three of his family members have tested positive for the virus and getting treated at the Rajaji hospital in Madurai. On the other hand, the four Indonesian nationals who arrived at Salem after attending the conference in Delhi were tested positive for the virus along with the tour guide and the rest of the people who came to the contact with the Indonesians have been kept under isolation. All the positive cases that have been reported in the state have somehow attributed through the contact of Thai Nationals.

The statement from the government of Tamil Nadu revealed that around 1500 people from the state had attended the conference in Delhi and the health department had already traced 981 people while the rest are in the process of getting located. After the attendees have made travels across the state, the government has directed the authorities to trace more people who participated in the conference. Tamil Nadu and Telangana are not the only states to house the attendees as Delhi has also reported with six positive cases who had attended the conference in Delhi and they have been admitted to AIIMS, Jhajjar. The Delhi government has isolated 200 people who attended the conference. Of the total coronavirus deaths in India that stand at 34, ten deaths have directly related to the conference and over 285 asymptomatic people have been admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital in Delhi since yesterday and on Monday, the government has completely shut down Nizamuddin area after the threat attained the national identity.

According to the ANI, the Home Ministry has found a violation of visa rules by foreigners who attended the Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin, Delhi. As per policy guidelines of Indian Visa issued by the government, preaching religious ideologies, making speeches in religious places, distribution of audio-visual display/ pamphlets about religious ideologies is not allowed. All foreigners who attended may be barred.