AGARTALA, May 6 - Taking serious note of the outbreak of COVID-19 in the headquarters of the 138th Battalion of the BSF based at Jawaharnagar in Dhalai district of Tripura, the State Government has sought a report from the Inspector General (IG) of the BSF, Tripura Frontier, on the development.
This follows after 13 more BSF jawans tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura last night, taking the total active cases of the disease in the State to 40. Two earlier patients were treated and subsequently discharged from hospital.
The entire Dhalai district has been notified as a Red Zone following the outbreak and a three-km radius each in three localities has been marked as containment areas, restricting public movement.
The State Government has asked the BSF IG as to how the outbreak took place inside the battalion headquarters.
Meanwhile, State Education Minister Ratal Lal Nath said all the BSF jawans who tested COVID-19 positive would be shifted from the GB Pant Hospital to the BSF Tripura Frontier Headquarters Hospital at Salbagan on the outskirts of the State capital as early as possible.
�A request came from the BSF authority to shift all the COVID-19 patients from the GB Pant Hospital to the BSF hospital at Salbagan. The matter will be decided shortly,� said an official here today.
Meanwhile, there are allegations that 12 BSF personnel, who have tested positive, complained of inconvenience during their shifting from Ambassa to the GB Pant Hospital on Tuesday. The ambulance in which they were travelling, stopped at Mungiakami and then at Champaknagar as the jawans expressed resentment over the alleged poor facilities provided by the Dhalai district administration.
Till date, 5,850 COVID-19 tests have been carried out in Tripura, while a total of 6,287 swabs have been collected by Health workers. As many as 173 individuals have been put under facility quarantine and 855 people have been home-quarantined.
