AGARTALA, May 4 - In a shocking development, 12 more BSF personnel of 138 Bn BSF based at Ambassa of Dhalai district tested Covid-19 positive last night, thus ringing alarm bells across Tripura.
Only recently, the state was declared as covid-19 free as no such case was reported since the past 14 days, which resulted in graded relaxation during the third phase of lockdown.
Earlier, one head constable and a constable of the same battalion were diagnosed with the deadly disease and now they are undergoing treatment in GBP Hospital.
Interestingly, the district administration is still clueless about the origin of the Covid-19 outbreak. As part of precautionary measures, a three-km radius of the battalion headquarters, 138 Bn BSF has been sealed and declared as containment area.
With yesterday�s development, the number of Covid-19 positive cases in the state has risen to 14, out of which 2 patients have already been released from hospital.
In a tweet, the Chief Minister appealed to the people, �Don�t panic, follow the government�s guidelines. We are working vigilantly for your safety.�
Worried by the developments, the Chief Minister had a telephonic conversation with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the Director General (DG) of BSF in New Delhi and sought their suggestions on how to handle the situation.
District Magistrate (DM) of Dhalai, Dr Brahmneet Kaur said all the jawans who were found Covid-19 positive were kept in the BSF campus under tight security cover.
�Trained doctors and nurses are being deployed for their treatment,� she said.
Altogether, 77 doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and security guards of Kulai district hospital were sent to quarantine as they came into close contact with the first two cases of BSF personnel.
When the 12 jawans, who contacted the Covid-19 virus, were about to be taken to the District Hospital at Kulai, hundreds of people gathered on the streets today morning and raised strong objection for trying to convert the district hospital into a Covid-19 hospital.
Sensing trouble, the district administration sent all the 12 BSF personnel to the GBP hospital under tight security cover.
However, panic griped Ambassa, district headquarters of Dhalai district over the outbreak of Covid-19.
The district administration has therefore promulgated prohibitory order in the entire district and put restrictions on the movement of people, vehicles and functioning of government offices, banks and shops.
