Twenty-three more Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel tested positive for COVID19 on Tuesday taking the total of the force’s infected personnel to 45.
ITBP reported its first COVID19 case on April 28.
The number of COVID19 positive cases increased to 21 on Monday and it has further risen to 45 on Tuesday.
According to reports, 43 of the personnel are from Tigri camp while two are stationed at Rohini for law and order duties.
The rise in the number of infected persons forced the ITBP authority to seal the Tigri camp in Delhi, a report quoted an official as saying.
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With the 45 CRPF infected men, the total number of COVID19 positive personnel engaged in various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) stands at 311.
However, out of the 311 CAPFs personnel, there are only 298 active cases.
ITBPF was raised on October 24, 1962 in the wake of the Sino-Indian War of 1962.
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ITBP is currently deployed on border guarding duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of the Indo-China border and manning border outposts on altitudes ranging from 9000’ to 18700’ in the Western, Middle and Eastern sectors of the Indo-China border.
Delhi’s Tigri camp of the ITBP houses 22nd battalion of the force.
The camp has around 1,000 personnel. While all of the personnel are under the observation of the health authorities 76 of them have been put under quarantine.
Also read: 122 CRPF personnel in Delhi-based battalion test positive for COVID19
A report quoted an official as saying on condition of anonymity: “We are trying to identify the source of infection in the force.”
“The preliminary assessment is that a retired ITBP officer, who was staying at Tigri camp and died due to Covid-19 on Sunday at Safdarjung hospital, could be the carrier,” said the official.
“The retired officer tested positive for COVID19 sometime in mid-April but there were other comorbidity factors due to which he died,” the officer added.
The ITBP reportedly suspects that some of the personnel may have been infected during law and order duties in different parts of Delhi along with the Delhi Police.