Fifteen personnel of Border Security Force (BSF) tested positive for coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Tuesday in Kanker district of Bastar division in Chhattisgarh, officials said.
Total 26 jawans of BSF have been found Covid-19 positive till now in the state. Six of them have been discharged from hospital after recovery.
“On Tuesday, first one jawan was detected positive and later at around 11 pm 14 more jawans of tested positive,” district Collector KL Chauhan told Hindustan Times.
Out of these 15 jawans, total 10 BSF personnel were deployed in Bande Camp in Koyilibeda block, while five are posted in a camp in Antagarh. All these jawans have recently returned from leave from various parts of the country like West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand.
“The department is finding out the contact details of these jawans and more tests could follow. All these jawans are kept in the quarantine centres of Bande and Antagarh will be shifted to Jagdalpur hospital,” the Collector added.
Inspector General of BSF, JS Prasad, told HT that all the protocols of testing and quarantining of jawans coming back from leave have been followed.
“About 170 personnel are sent in containment zone after 14 of our jawans detected yesterday. All these jawans came from different parts of the country,” said Prasad.
It is worth mentioning that in May, state health secretary Niharika Barik Singh had written to senior officials of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Services Selection Board (SSB) to ensure compliance with quarantine protocols.
Officials said that directions have been issued that whenever these personnel return to Chhattisgarh from other states, authorities must ensure they are compulsorily quarantined for 14 days. Information about them should be given to district collectors and health tests must be conducted on them.
Till Tuesday, the state’s over Covid-19 count was 2,385, though the active cases were 846, as 1,527 people have been discharged after recovery while 12 others have died so far.
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