Coronavirus update: Two new cases in Army; both had history of domestic travel

The two new cases come days after a 34-year-old soldier tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Leh on March 18, becoming the first case in the army. The soldier from Ladakh Scouts has recovered.

Two soldiers, including an army doctor, tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday at a time the force is taking aggressive measures to tackle the spread of the disease within its ranks, two army officers said on condition of anonymity.

Police personnel check commuters for curfew passes in Punjab’s Ludhiana on day 5 of the 21 day nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus. (Gurpreet Singh/HT Photo)

While the doctor is a colonel posted at the Kolkata-based Eastern Command hospital, the other soldier is a junior commissioned officer in Dehradun, said the first officer cited above.

“Both had history of domestic travel in the first/second week of March. Necessary contact tracing is being done and identified persons have been quarantined. The two affected persons are keeping good health and are stable,” said the second officer cited above.

The colonel, 52, travelled from New Delhi to Kolkata by flight on March 17 and showed symptoms of Covid-19 a few days ago after which he was tested and found to be positive. The JCO, who is 47, travelled from Delhi to Jhunjhunu on February 25 and from Jhunjhunu to Chakrata near Dehradun on March 10.

He was admitted to a hospital in Chakrata on March 25 after he showed symptoms and shifted to the military hospital in Dehradun on March 26.

The two new cases come days after a 34-year-old soldier tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Leh on March 18, becoming the first case in the army. The soldier from Ladakh Scouts has recovered.

The army, which is at the forefront of the country’s fight against the pandemic, has taken a raft of preventive measures to stop the spread of the infection within its ranks.

These measures include cancellation of all non-essential training, conferences and travel, a freeze on postings and foreign assignments, avoiding any assembly that involves more than 50 personnel, postponing all courses for officers and encouraging personnel to work from home wherever possible.