2020 Tablighi Jamaat COVID-19 hotspot in Pakistan

2020 Tablighi Jamaat COVID-19 hotspot in Pakistan
Date10 March 2020
VenueRaiwind Markaz
LocationLahore, Pakistan
TypeReligious congregation
Participantsat least 100,000 people[1]

A Tablighi Jamaat religious congregation that took place in Lahore's Raiwind Markaz in early March 2020 was a COVID-19 super-spreader event with more than 539 confirmed cases linked to the event being reported across the country.[2] Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry blamed the "stubbornness of the clergy" for the event having gone ahead despite the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

According to a report by the Punjab Special Branch, approximately 70,000 to 80,000 members may have attended the congregation at the Raiwind Markaz on 10 March, with the majority being from various parts of Pakistan and 3,000 attendees from 40 foreign countries. Jamaat's management claimed 250,000 members have attended the congregation at the Raiwind Markaz.[2]

As of 8 April 2020, a total of 20,000 people who attended Tablighi Ijtema have been quarantined and the Pakistan government is trying to track down the remaining attendees.[4][1]

As of 15 April 2020, over 60% of the COVID-19 cases in Pakistan have been linked to pilgrims returning from the Middle East and followers of Tablighi jamaat.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Coronavirus: Pakistan struggles to track down 100,000 attendees of Tablighi Jamaat religious event". Tom Hussain. Sydney Morning Herald. 7 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b Chaudhry, Asif (8 April 2020). "Tableeghi Jamaat in hot water in Pakistan too for Covid-19 spread". Dawn.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Pakistan quarantines 20,000 following Tabligh gathering in Lahore". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  4. ^ 06 Apr 2020 GMT+3 (6 April 2020). "Pakistan quarantines 20,000 following Tabligh gathering in Lahore". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 17 April 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ "'God is with us': Many Muslims flout the coronavirus ban in mosques - Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 15 April 2020.