As Rajasthan Goes From 83 To 430 Coronavirus Cases In 8 Days; Chief Secretary Blames It On Tablighi Jamaat: Report

The spurt in coronavirus cases -- from 83 to 430 in 8 days -- in Rajasthan has worried the government officials. The coronavirus infection has spread to 24 out of 33 districts in the state by Thursday (9 April).

The infection was limited to 5-6 districts, Chief Secretary D B Gupta told IANS. It spread to more areas with the return of attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin, Delhi, he added.

On 31 March there were 83 cases in 11 districts, but in eight days the number had increased to 430 in 24 districts, he added.

The worst-hit districts are Jaipur (140 cases), Jodhpur (34), Jhunjhunu (31), Tonk (27), Bikaner (20), Jaisalmer (19), Kota (15), and Banswara (12).

On Thursday, 47 new cases were reported. Of this, 11 were from Jaipur, 7 each from Jhunjhunu, Tonk and Jhalawar, 5 from in Jaisalmer, 3 from Jodhpur, and one from Barmer.

Expressing worries over the rising Covid-19 hotspots in the state, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot asked officials to implement the Bhilwara model to control situation in new hotspots, like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Churu, Jhunjhunu and Tonk.

He also expressed worries over rise in coronavirus cases in Jodhpur in the last few days. Jodhpur had seven hotspots till March 31. But by Thursday, it had increased to 34.

"We need to check the community spread. Screen each household in the city," he told officials and said more testing facilities be set up in the districts where the number of cases had risen in the last few days.

Of the 19,107 samples in the state, 430 tested positive and test report for 826 samples were awaited, said Additional Chief Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)