42 Nizamuddin returnees in Odisha volunteer for COVID-19 test

Bhubaneswar, Apr 7 () As many as 42 more TablighiJamaat event attendees in Odisha have reported their travelhistory and volunteered for COVID-19 test in the state, inresponse to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's appeal to thecommunity to cooperate with the authorities.

With this, the total number of people in the statefound to have attended the Nizamuddin religious congregationstood at 70, Subroto Bagchi, the government's COVID-19spokesperson, said on Tuesday.

Earlier, the state government had identified 28Nizamuddin returnees and placed them and their family membersunder quarantine. Of them, three have tested positive forCOVID-19, he said.

The chief minister has thanked all those who haveresponded to his April 4 appeal and volunteered for the test,Bagchi said.

"The state has assured all assistance to theNizamuddin returnees. The government will bear the medicalexpenses, if they were found to have contracted the disease,"he said, adding that those still hesitating to report shouldimmediately approach the authorities.

Bagchi also said that the state has identified 40 morepeople from Odisha, who had participated in the event and werecurrently put in isolation in other states, amid the lockdown.

Taking into account the fresh cases, the number ofpeople who had attended the Delhi event rose to 110, he said. AAMRMS RMS