LNJP docs demand police protection from unruly Tablighi Jamaat patients

The attendees of Markaz Nizamuddin's Tablighi Jamaat are giving a tough time to the medical staff at Delhi's Loknayak Jai Prakash Hospital with their unruly behaviour, to the extent that the Director of the hospital has demanded police protection.

Speaking to IANS, the director of LNJP hospital Dr J.C. Passey, said "We have at least 188 in our hospital who have attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi. These people are not cooperating in conducting tests. They are saying they do not have any infection. They are also misbehaving with medical staff and demanding doctors' round in the ward frequently. Some of them are asking for medicines unnecessarily."

"I have informed the Health secretary of Delhi government who has written a letter to the Home Ministry that all Delhi government hospitals where these people are admitted must be given police protection because they can attack the staff and even run away from the hospital which will be a disaster," Passey told IANS.

According to the Health Ministry, at least 400 confirmed positive cases across the country having link to Tablighi Jamaat cluster. Of which at least 47 cases have been identified in Delhi. There are 173 positive cases from Tamil Nadu, 11 from Rajasthan, 9 from Andaman Nicobar Islands, 2 from Puducherry, 22 from Jammu and Kashmir, 33 from Telangana, 67 from Andhra Pradesh and 16 from Assam who have epidemiological linkage with Tablighi Jamaat.

There are at least 9,000 people including 1,306 who have been identified for having contact with Tablighi Jamaat, the Home Ministry said on Thursday. Around 2,000 Tablighi Jamat workers including 250 foreigners were in Delhi. Of which 1,804 have been shifted to quarantine centres and at least 334 symptomatic people have been admitted to hospitals, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Thursday.

According to the Health Ministry, there are at least 328 new cases and 12 new deaths have been reported in 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry. A total of 1,965 confirmed cases in 29 states with 60 deaths have been reported in India with 151 people recovered so far. The Health Ministry has said that the numbers are spiking due to Tablighi Jamaat attendees roaming across the country. IANS