Date
27 February–1 March 2020
Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Religious congregation
Biggest cluster during the second wave of COVID-19 in Malaysia with 3,375 positive cases
34[3]
Event[edit]
Between 27 February and 1 March 2020, the Tablighi Jamaat movement organised an international conference at the "Masjid Jamek Sri Petaling" in Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.[10] The religious gathering was attended by approximately 16,000 attendees (only 12,500 attendees as claimed by the Sri Petaling tabligh group leaders)[11] including about 1,500 from outside Malaysia.[1] Attendees were found to share food, sit close together, and hold hands at the event. According to guests, the leaders of the event did not talk about COVID-19 precautions, but most attendees washed their hands during the event. Malaysian authorities were criticised for allowing the event to go forward.[10]
Spread[edit]
The Sri Petaling Tablighi Jamaat gathering has been linked to more than 620 COVID-19 cases in March 2020, making it the largest-known centre of transmission of the virus in Southeast Asia at that time.[10][5] At least seven countries have traced their cases back to the Malaysia event; most of the 73 COVID-19 cases in Brunei have been linked to the event, as well as 22 in Cambodia, 13 in Indonesia,[12] 10 in Thailand, 5 in Singapore, 2 in the Philippines,[13] and 2 in Vietnam.[14][15][4]
By 13 March, the Malaysian Ministry of Health had revised the number of Malaysian Tablighi Jamaat participants from 5,000 to 14,500, raising concerns that more positive cases could be discovered.[16] Of the 14,500 participants, 41 tested positive for COVID-19, which brought the total number of cases in Malaysia to 238.[17][18] By 17 March, the Sri Petaling event had resulted in the biggest increase in COVID-19 cases in Malaysia, with almost two-thirds of the 673 confirmed cases in Malaysia linked to this event.[10]
On 29 March, Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah announced that the Tabligh cluster had reached the fifth generation.[19] By 19 May, Noor Hisham confirmed that 48% of Malaysia's COVID-19 cases (3,347) had been linked to the Sri Petaling tabligh cluster.[6]