New Delhi:A Colonel-ranked Army doctor with specialisation in anesthesiology and a commando from the Special Forces who is a Junior Commissioned Officer tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.
But what has set the alarm bells ringing is that both the officials had a history of recent travel in New Delhi.
The Colonel, who is based in Kolkata, was in New Delhi for a seminar in a prestigious institute till March 17 and was asymptomatic till March 23 before developing fever.
The JCO in the Special Forces, aged 47, was travelling from Jhunjhunu (in Rajasthan) on March 10 to his place of posting in Chakrata near Dehradun via New Delhi. He turned symptomatic on March 21 before getting admitted to the hospital on March 25.
Both the officials are reported to be in isolation wards and all precautions are being taken.
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The Indian Army has taken the threat of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 very seriously and had first issued orders to undertake emergency measures on March 6 advising its personnel to avoid gatherings, crowds and even visits to “animal farms, live animal markets or where animals are slaughtered.”
A 10-point Army advisory had warned individuals at all levels to avoid handshakes and close contacts with people having any respiratory symptoms, to avoid mass gatherings as far as possible and to maintain a social distance of at least one metre from others.
The Army has also asked its personnel to “maintain a list of close contacts at home, work place or from commute or social groups to ease the process of contact tracing during exigency.”
An advisory issued by the Director-General, Armed Forces Medical Services, asked all Armed Forces personnel and their families to avoid large festive congregations including ‘Holi’ and visits to crowded places (movie halls, theatres, shopping malls, etc) which involve close personal contact.
It also ordered a compulsory 14-day quarantine for all serving personnel and their families coming from Italy, Iran, Singapore and Korea.
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