Chhattisgarh: 15 more BSF personnel contract COVID-19

Fifteen personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) have tested positive for coronavirus in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district, officials said on Wednesday.

With this, the number of COVID-19 cases in the BSF in Chhattisgarh has gone up to 26, they said.

"Among the 15 new cases, reports of 14 personnel came out positive late Tuesday night, while another one tested positive in the evening, Kanker's Chief Medical and Health Officer Dr Jagjivan Ram Uike told PTI.

Out of these, 10 were kept at a quarantine centre in Bande village while the others were lodged at a similar facility in Antagarh, he said, adding that after their reports came out positive, they were being admitted to a hospital in Jagdalpur.

With the latest cases, the overall count of infections in the BSF has reached 26 in the state. Out of these, six personnel have been discharged after recovery," a BSF official said.

Out of the 15 new cases, seven personnel are from the BSF's 132nd battalion, five from 17th battalion, two from 82nd battalion and one from 167th battalion, he said.

All the troopers had returned to their places of posting from different states, including West Bengal, Odisha and Bihar, after availing leave, he said.

The BSF is extensively deployed in the insurgency-hit Kanker district for anti-Naxal operations.

Till Tuesday, the states over COVID-19 count was 2,385. These included 846 active cases.

So far, the state has reported 12 COVID-19 deaths while 1,527 people have been discharged after recovery, as per the official figures.