Covid-19: 42 evacuees from Iran test positive at army quarantine facilities in Rajasthan

Figures released by Rajasthan government on Sunday show that a total of 52 evacuees --- 25 lodged in a facility at Jodhpur and the remaining 27 housed in the one at Jaisalmer --- are among the 796 people who have tested positive for coronavirus.

As the country records a daily rise in Covid-19 cases, 42 people, all evacuees from Iran, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus at the Indian Army’s two quarantine facilities in Rajasthan, two government officials said on Monday on condition of anonymity.

Family members of a person who tested positive for Covid-19 being taken to a quarantine facility to curb the spread of coronavirus, in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on Thursday, 26 March 2020. (Himanshu Vyas / Hindustan Times)

Figures released by Rajasthan government on Sunday show that a total of 52 evacuees --- 25 lodged in a facility at Jodhpur and the remaining 27 housed in the one at Jaisalmer --- are among the 796 people who have tested positive for the disease.

However, the two officials cited above said that 51 people housed in the two quarantine centres had tested positive and nine of them had been cured, bringing down number of cases to 42.

Evacuees from Iran arrived in Rajasthan in batches between March 15 and March 29. Those who have tested positive are being treated at tertiary care hospitals in Jodhpur and Jaisalmer.

While the army is an important institutional pillar in the country’s fight against the pandemic, the force is also taking aggressive steps to tackle the spread of the disease within its ranks. Two soldiers, including an army doctor, tested positive for Covid-19 last month.