AGARTALA, April 3 - Two Muslim clerics out of a total of 11 persons of Boxanagar area in Sipahijala district who attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi, have tested positive for COVID-19 in Bikaner district of Rajasthan, official sources said here today.
The 11-member contingent had left the State on March 5 to attend the Tablighi Jamaat meet at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi and had stayed there till March 8. �Instead of returning home, they undertook a journey to Bikaner in Rajasthan on March 8. During tests, two have tested positive for COVID-19, while the remaining came out clean,� said Tripura Surveillance Officer Dr Deep Debbarma in the presence of Secretary of Health and Family Welfare Dr Debasish Basu at a press conference here this evening.
While briefing media persons at the Civil Secretariat, Dr Debbarma said the two COVID-19 patients from the State in Rajasthan are stated to be critical and the State Government would seek a detailed report on the development soon.
�It appears that the 11-member contingent came in direct contact with the COVID-19 positive person of Karimganj district in Assam, who was the first to be detected in that State,� he said. Meanwhile, as many as 192 swabs have been collected for COVID-19 tests in the State and 117 have tested negative, while the results of others are yet to be received.
According to Health Secretary Dr Basu, the Tripura Government has already sealed all entry points, keeping in mind of the ongoing nationwide lockdown except at Chouraibari. �Since a COVID-19 case has been found at Karimganj in Assam, which shares border with the State, the Government has put a blanket ban on entry of people into Tripura. Nobody is allowed from Karimganj or elsewhere to enter the State except a few individuals engaged in essential services. Security personnel have been deployed along the border to thwart any intrusion bid,� he said.
On the supply of essential commodities to the State, Dr Basu said that there is no shortage of food items and drugs. �The Government is constantly monitoring the situation to minimise the pains of the common people in the wake of the ongoing lockdown,� he added.
