20 sailors of Indian Navy test positive for coronavirus
In a worrying piece of news, 21 serving personnel of the Indian Navy tested positive for coronavirus in Mumbai. Of them, 20 are sailors of INS Angre, Western Naval Command's shore-based support establishment. They have been quarantined at an Indian Navy hospital in the Maharashtra capital and efforts are on to trace those who came in contact with the sailors. Here's more.
Indian Navy confirmed the news and added that most of the infected personnel caught the deadly virus from one sailor, who tested positive on April 7. Reports said at least 14 personnel was asymptomatic. Now, the Navy is probing whether the sailors moved around the facilities for essential services. This is the first chunk of coronavirus positive cases being reported from the Navy.
Further, the Navy clarified no infections were reported from ships or submarines. "All primary contacts (though asymptomatic) were tested. The entire living block was immediately put under quarantine, containment zone and INS Angre under lockdown. Action being taken as per established protocol," the statement said.
To note, a majority of Western Command's warships and submarines are kept in the Naval Dockyard of Mumbai. INS Angre is just a few hundred meters away from the dockyard. Naval Barracks, as INS Angre is also known, oversees plenty of operations in different units and facilities. The officers were shifted to a Naval Hospital in Mumbai, named INHS Ashwini.
While this is Navy's first case, the Indian Army reported eight COVID-19 cases. "We have only eight positive cases in the entire Indian Army. Of the eight, two are doctors and one nursing assistant. Four are responding well to the treatment," Army Chief MM Naravane said yesterday. He added one soldier, who tested positive in Ladakh, has recovered and resumed his duties.
"Our personnel who have not come in contact with an infected person are being moved back to units, we have already catered for two special trains, from Bengaluru to Jammu and other from Bengaluru to Guwahati," the decorated officer added.
In India, the number of coronavirus cases soared to 14,352 and the number of deaths touched 486. Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state with 3,320 cases and 201 deaths. Among cities, Mumbai has been battered the most. Meanwhile, the nation is under a lockdown that was initially supposed to end on April 14 but was extended till May 3 to contain the spread.
