200 security personnel infected with coronavirus in Maoist-affected Bastar

A senior Chhattisgarh police officer said all security personnel operating in the Maoist-affected Bastar division have received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

RAIPUR: At least 200 security personnel have been infected with the coronavirus disease in four districts of Maoist-affected Bastar division, officials said on Monday.

A Maoist memorial demolished by the troops of 44th Battalion ITBP and Chhattisgarh Police in a joint search operation in the jungles near Rajnandgaon district in December 2021 (ANI)

Senior officials said that attempts are being taken to contain the spread of the infection and there are no serious concerns in the security camps of the division.

“In the last couple of weeks, there has been spike in Covid cases throughout the state. Similarly, around 200 security personnel have been so far identified with Covid-19 infection. Even after strict adherence to Covid-19 protocol, there has been spread of the infection in camps because the security personnel have to come out to perform their duties, commute for administrative/operational/personal reasons,” inspector general of police, Bastar range, Sunderaj P said.

Sukma district, where 160 security personnel are infected with the virus, has reported the highest number of cases , followed by Narayanpur where 30 cases were recorded.

“Since all security personnel are double vaccinated, there are no serious concerns in the camps. All the infected personnel are recovering ...But still we would ensure strict adherence to the protocol like isolation and observation of personnel returning back from leave or out station visits,” the I-G added.

Chhattisgarh added 3,963 cases to its tally of active cases on Sunday. The state’s positivity rate, the number of positive cases detected per 100 tests, stood at 12.17% . The state has a total of 32,792 active cases.