But for Markaz, Telangana would have been safe zone by now: KCR

Hyderabad: Telangana would have been in safe zone by now if the Markaz issue had not cropped up, according to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, the Chief Minister said that 172 Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) activists out of nearly 1,100 who took part in the Markaz, Nizamuddin meeting tested Covid-19 positive.

Not just that, 93 of their family members were infected because of them and they also tested positive. As on Monday, the total positive cases in the state had touched 364 with the addition of 30 new cases.

The number of active cases undergoing treatment was 308, he said. KCR said so far 3015 people who either attended the Delhi meet, or their family members or others who got in touch with them have been identified.

He said all of them do not belong to a single community. Some others are also there among the infected people. Stating that the government had taken all necessary measures to conduct tests and quarantine them, the Chief Minister said that sample tests were conducted for 600 on Monday and results are likely to be known by Tuesday.

He said that in three to four days all 3000 connected to Nizamuddin episode will undergo sample testing.

He said that if all goes well he was expecting positive cases will go up by another 100 only in the state, unless there are instances of community infection.

KCR further stated that 50 foreign returnees tested Covid-19 positive after their return to the state and 35 of them were discharged already. Another 15 are likely to be discharged in the next few days.

He said a total of 25,937 persons who returned from abroad were kept under scanner and in a day or two all of them would be relieved from isolation as they did not report symptoms during the incubation period.