The Story Of India's Largest Covid-19 Cluster

Despite government orders prohibiting large gatherings, more than 4,500 people assembled at the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in mid-March. Saurabh Trivedi recounts the events of the week when costly mistakes were made

- Saurabh Trivedi

On March 30, the evacuation exercise at the Tablighi Jamaat Markaz started with the help of the local police. (Below): People leave for hospitals from the Markaz at Nizamuddin after showing symptoms of COVID-19. * R.V. MOORTHY , PTI

It was a letter that arrived sometime on March 25 evening that announced the beginning of a nightmare. The letter, which confirmed the Delhi authorities’ worst fears, landed at New Delhi’s South-East district administration from the district administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It stated that all the six patients who had tested positive for novel coronavirus in the islands had one thing in common: they had all returned from a gathering at the Markaz (Centre), the headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat, a conservative Islamic organisation, in New Delhi. The six of them had attended a large convention with more than 4,500 people from the world over.

The nightmare for the authorities was that all the attendees and their contacts had to now be traced and quarantined to prevent further spread of the deadly virus. Until this information came, India’s efforts in combating the COVID-19 pandemic were confined to screening travellers who had come from abroad.

Chalking out a plan