The number of total cases in the district went up to 80, the second highest in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Agra at 138.

Gautam Buddh Nagar saw a sudden rise in coronavirus cases on Monday, with 16 people testing positive.

According to officials, while nine cases were linked to a fire safety firm that has been the main source of cases in the district, two were people with links to the Nizamuddin Markaz gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat. These are the first set of cases linked to the Jamaat in the district.

The number of total cases in the district went up to 80, the second highest in Uttar Pradesh, followed by Agra at 138.

“Cases linked to the fire safety firm are still being reported in the district. In the fresh set of results, nine such cases appeared. Besides that, two residents of a Greater Noida village were also found positive and prima facie, they have links to the Jamat gathering. One of the new cases is a health professional. They are being given adequate treatment,” said Dr AP Chaturvedi, CMO Gautam Buddh Nagar.

According to officials, the patients linked to the fire safety firm hail from JJ Cluster in Sector 5 and 8, which had been declared a hotspot earlier.

So far, 13 patients have recovered and nine are set to be discharged on Tuesday, said an official. All of the patients had already been put under quarantine and are currently stable, officials said.

An antigen testing lab was also made functional in the district, where results of samples can be obtained within 24 hours. The lab has been set up at Greater Noida’s Government Institute of Medical Sciences after the approval of ICMR and NIV, Pune.