Tamil Nadu continues to top southern states in most COVID-19 patients

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Tamil Nadu on Monday continued to top the southern states with the most number of COVID19 patients, with a bulk of them being returnees of the Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation in Delhi last month. Kerala also reported fresh cases of the virus, some of them with a history of travel to the national capital to attend the Islamic meet in Nizamuddin West in South Delhi.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda expressed concern over an entire community being allegedly projected in bad light in the social media on this issue, and wanted government action against such persons.

On Monday, Tamil Nadu reported 50 new cases of coronavirus, with as many as 48 of them having attended the Delhi conference. With the 50 new ones, Tamil Nadu's overall positive cases stood at 621 on Monday, Health Secretary Beela Rajesh said.

Of the total 621 positive coronavirus cases, 574 are returnees of the Delhi Tablighi Jamaat meet as of today, the government said.

As many as six people from the state have died of the virus, with two of them having a Tablighi Jamaat connection.

A 51-year-old man from Villupuram in who had attended the congregation in Delhi and the wife of another positive case from Theni who participated in that meet are the two fatalities.

In Kerala, 13 fresh cases of the virus were reported on Monday with three of them being returnees of the Jamaat event. Two people from Malappuram and one from Kollam had returned after attending the Tablighi Jamaat meeting in New Delhi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram.

So far, the southern state has reported 327 positive cases and two fatalities. Meanwhile, Deve Gowda said an entire minority community was being projected in bad light on the social media in the backdrop of several attendees of the Tablighi event testing positive for COVID-19 and urged the Karnatka government to take legal action against those indulging in such acts.

In a letter to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday, he appreciated the efforts of the Karnataka governmentin identifying and testing Tablighi event returnees for COVID-19 and also sought action against those trying to project the entireminority community in bad light on social media for the spread of the pandemic.

Gowda also condemned incidents of attacks on doctors and health department workers and sought protection for them.