Srinagar, Mar 26: As Kashmir copes with coronavirus pandemic, the surge in positive cases especially those related to a person who had attended a religious event has compelled the authorities in Pulwama declare many mosques as quarantine centres.
On Thursday, an elderly Srinagar resident who’d tested positive for the virus passed away at a local hospital here. The deceased person had recently travelled to several parts of India while also attending a Tableeghi Jamaat event, and on his arrival to Kashmir he had met several people associated with the school of thought. Four such people were declared coronavirus positive on Wednesday, while scores have been either put in home isolation or asked to get tested.
In the backdrop of it, the district administration in Pulwama has come up with an order designating several mosques in the district used by Tableeghi Jamaat as “Administrative Quarantine Centres”.
“Whereas people of Tableeghi Jamaat are travelling from various areas to District Pulwama due to which there is every apprehension of spread of COVID-19 infection in the area,” reads the order.
It adds: “The Tableeghi Jamaat on returning are living in certain mosques of the district making these mosques vulnerable to spread of infection to other people visiting there.”
To curb spread of COVID-19, it is now felt to declare such mosques as Qurantine Areas, where Tableeghi Jamaat person are residing/taking shelter.”
“Therefore in exercise of the powers vested in me under Section 34 of Disaster Management Act 2005, I Dr Raghav Langer, District Magistrate/Chairman DDMA Pulwama, declare that all such masjids/mosques of district Pulwama be designated as Administrative Quarantine Centres, where concerned Magistrates find the Tableeghi Jamaat persons have recently returned from outside and are residing in the mosque,” the order says.
