Via the South China Morning Post: Fears of massive Pakistan coronavirus outbreak after 100,000 attended Lahore religious gathering. Excerpt:
Pakistani authorities are searching for tens of thousands of worshippers who attended an Islamic gathering in Lahore last month just as the novel coronavirus was taking root in the impoverished nation, officials said.
Authorities want to test or quarantine those who congregated at the Tablighi Jamaat – an Islamic missionary movement – from March 10 to March 12 amid fears they are now spreading Covid-19 across Pakistan and overseas.
Organisers say about 100,000 people went to the meeting, which took place despite government requests to cancel it in light of the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an official at Lahore’s district commissioner’s office said the gathering’s location outside the eastern city has now been sealed off.
“Authorities in all districts (of the country) are trying to find those who have attended the event,” the official said.
About 2,500 attendees – including 1,500 foreigners – who had remained around the event site, which includes a mosque and sleeping quarters, have been placed in quarantine.
So far, at least 154 worshippers who went to last month’s Jamaat have tested positive for coronavirus, with two fatalities to date, authorities said.
