Tripura: Two More BSF Personnel Test Positive For Coronavirus, Tally Increases To 150

In a respite after ten consecutive days of multiple cases, only two BSF officials on Monday (11 May) tested positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of positive cases among the para-military troopers and their kin in Tripura to 150, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said.

Deb, in a tweet, said: "In a massive COVID-19 test among 750 civilian and BSF in Dhalai District today (Monday), two Border Security Force officials were found COVID-19 positive. All patients (undergoing treatment at the hospitals in Agartala) are responding well to the treatment.With the blessings of Mata Tripurasundari soon our state will be Corona free."

According to the Tripura health officials, the fresh two cases were found in the BSF's 86th Battalion headquartered in Ambassa, the district headquarters of Dhalai, 82 km north of Agartala.

The Chief Minister said that no civilian living near the BSF Battalion headquarters was found positive yet.

According to state health officials, the 150 positive cases included 124 BSF personnel, including officers, of the two battalions (86th and 138th) and 25 family members -- 14 children and 11 women as well as a civilian mess worker. The headquarters of both 86th and 138th Battalions at Ambassa were earlier declared a "Red Zone" by the Union Health Ministry after the BSF jawans and their family members tested positive.

The health officials said that most of the infected persons were brought to Agartala and are now undergoing treatment at the state-run Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital, a dedicated Covid-19 hospital.

Additional Chief Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Sanjay Kumar Rakesh said that the swab samples of most suspected jawans of the 86th and 138th Battalions have already been tested.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)