Coimbatore: Jamaat leaders are taking a series of steps to ensure cooperation of their community members with the city corporation and public health department in their drive to contain local transmission of coronavirus.
In some areas such as Ukkadam and Podanur, a few jamaat leaders accompanied the nurses when they went door-to-door to screen people for symptoms and identify senior citizens in the high-risk category. A few doctors from the community have also expressed their willingness to intervene and convince the families that are uncooperative.
Last week, 23 people in the city corporation limits had tested positive for Covid-19. All of them were attendees of Tablighi Jamaat conference in New Delhi. However, there was a feeling among many of their families that they were unnecessarily being targeted and scrutinized, prompting them to behave rudely to the health department authorities, who were on the screening drive.
It was, however, heartening to see R Sadiqullah, a senior Jamaat leader from the mosque in Uppilipalayam, accompanying a Muslim nurse on Tuesday as she went door-to-door in Rose Garden to check if any resident was having Covid-19 symptoms.
He said, “The truth is currently our community does feel victimized, especially due to false propaganda on social media and by some newspapers and channels after the coronavirus outbreak. But we know what a danger even an asymptomatic positive patient could pose. So, we have decided to help the health department officials.”
The jamaat leader said they have been explaining to the affected how the virus could affect their families, neighbours, people in their locality and members of their own community.
It was with the help of Jamaat leaders like Sadiq and Javed that health department nurses and volunteers had taken up the massive containment exercise on Tuesday. “Many people consider it just another ploy of the central government to target them. While most of the nurses and sanitary workers are also Muslims, they go door-to-door only accompanied by the Jamaat leader from the nearest mosque or a Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) volunteer,” said a nursing staffer with the Raja Street PHC. In Ukkadam alone, there are five positive cases.
In some areas such as Ukkadam and Podanur, a few jamaat leaders accompanied the nurses when they went door-to-door to screen people for symptoms and identify senior citizens in the high-risk category. A few doctors from the community have also expressed their willingness to intervene and convince the families that are uncooperative.
Last week, 23 people in the city corporation limits had tested positive for Covid-19. All of them were attendees of Tablighi Jamaat conference in New Delhi. However, there was a feeling among many of their families that they were unnecessarily being targeted and scrutinized, prompting them to behave rudely to the health department authorities, who were on the screening drive.
It was, however, heartening to see R Sadiqullah, a senior Jamaat leader from the mosque in Uppilipalayam, accompanying a Muslim nurse on Tuesday as she went door-to-door in Rose Garden to check if any resident was having Covid-19 symptoms.
He said, “The truth is currently our community does feel victimized, especially due to false propaganda on social media and by some newspapers and channels after the coronavirus outbreak. But we know what a danger even an asymptomatic positive patient could pose. So, we have decided to help the health department officials.”
The jamaat leader said they have been explaining to the affected how the virus could affect their families, neighbours, people in their locality and members of their own community.
It was with the help of Jamaat leaders like Sadiq and Javed that health department nurses and volunteers had taken up the massive containment exercise on Tuesday. “Many people consider it just another ploy of the central government to target them. While most of the nurses and sanitary workers are also Muslims, they go door-to-door only accompanied by the Jamaat leader from the nearest mosque or a Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) volunteer,” said a nursing staffer with the Raja Street PHC. In Ukkadam alone, there are five positive cases.
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