Six more Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel deployed in Delhi were declared coronavirus positive on Thursday, taking the number of infected CRPF personnel to 52 across the country.
All the six men belong to the 31st Battalion of the CRPF and are deputed in Mayur Vihar in East Delhi. They have been quarantined at a Delhi government centre in Mandawali, which is a few kilometres away from the base of their battalion. Out of the 89 test reports that came on Thursday, 6 returned positive.
With the swab report of these personnel confirming them Covid-19 positive, the number of total infected personnel in CRPF Delhi touched 51. One of the CRPF personnel of the 194 Battalion of its Rapid Action Force (RAF) was detected Covid-19 positive in Ahmedabad earlier this month.
Apart from this, a 55-year-old Sub-Inspector of the 3.5 lakh strong central paramilitary force had succumbed to the infection on Tuesday. A total of 12 personnel were declared Covid-19 positive on Tuesday.
Fifteen CRPF men were found positive for the dreaded virus on April 26 which included one Assistant Sub-Inspector and four head constables from the same battalion whose nine personnel had contracted Covid-19 on April 24.
The personnel of the 31st unit of CRPF underwent tests after a Head Constable who visited the battalion recently tested positive for the virus. The Head Constable, who was working as a nursing assistant, is part of the 162nd battalion deployed in Kupwara in Jammu & Kashmir and was in Noida on leave.
Soon after the nursing assistant was found positive for the deadly disease, all his contact personnel were shifted to a quarantine centre.
The CRPF, the country's largest Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) or paramilitary wing, is mandated to provide internal security in the country and for conducting anti-Naxal and counter-terrorist operations apart from rendering regular law and order duties.
The information came at a time when the deadly virus has already snuffed out 56 lives in the national capital, besides infecting over 3,400 people.
( With inputs from IANS )