NEW DELHI – A total of 154 soldiers from India’s border security force (BSF) performing essential and operational duties have been infected with the coronavirus.
Sixty of the 85 newly infected soldiers were deployed at Chandni Mahal and Jamia areas of New Delhi, according to an India Today report.
Six other personnel are from the escort team of the inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) that toured West Bengal to check COVID-19 containment measures in the state.
At least 37 infected personnel are from the Tripura frontier of the force, said the publication.
BSF, known as India’s first line of defence, comprises around 250,000 soldiers stationed on Pakistan and Bangladesh borders.
COVID-19 cases in BSF
Total 69 BSF personnel have been found COVID +Ve till date, posted in different BSF establishments. 2 have recovered & 67 are under treatment. During essential & operational duties, personnel contracted this infection. Press release👇https://t.co/wVaIFZaqdO— BSF (@BSF_India) May 5, 2020
The BSF headquarters were recently made functional again after two of its floors were sealed due to the cases.
India has so far recorded more than 52,000 cases of COVID-19 infection, the illness developed from a novel coronavirus, with a total of 1,768 fatalities. Nearly 15,000 people have also recovered.
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