Army doctor in Delhi tests positive for Covid-19, colleague is symptomatic
The necessary contact tracing has been carried out and 18 contacts of the doctor, a lieutenant colonel, have been identified to be in the high-risk category while two others are in the low-risk category, said one of persons cited above.
An Indian Army doctor posted in Delhi has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and a colleague of his is symptomatic, two people familiar with the details said on Tuesday on condition on anonymity.
The necessary contact tracing has been carried out and 18 contacts of the doctor, a lieutenant colonel, have been identified to be in the high-risk category while two others are in the low-risk category, said one of persons cited above.
The high-risk contacts include the officer’s wife, daughter and the colleague who is symptomatic, he said.
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The latest case has taken the number of soldiers infected by Covid-19 to five. Two soldiers, including an army doctor of the rank of colonel tested positive for Covid-19, in March-end at a time the force is taking aggressive measures to tackle the spread of the disease its ranks.
In the latest case, the lieutenant colonel had no direct contact with patients under treatment, said the second person cited above. “The doctor who is symptomatic is under medical care and the others who were in contact with the doctor found positive are in home quarantine,” he said.
The office block of the lieutenant colonel has been sanitized and locked till April 19, his residential building has been quarantined and other buildings he visited are being fumigated, he added.
A colonel-ranked officer posted at the Kolkata-based Eastern Command hospital and a junior commissioned officer serving with a unit in Dehradun tested positive for coronavirus in March-end. Both had history of domestic travel in the first/second week of March.
A a 34-year-old soldier tested positive for the coronavirus in Leh on March 18, becoming the first case in the army. The soldier from Ladakh Scouts has recovered.
In an address to soldiers on the Covid-19 outbreak last month, army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane said it was important for them to stay fit and remain away from coronavirus if they have to help the countrymen in these serious times.
The army has asked its units across the country to strictly adhere to protocols for containing the spread of Covid-19.
The army, which is at the forefront of the country’s fight against the pandemic, has taken a raft of preventive measures to stop the spread of the infection within its ranks.
These measures include cancellation of all non-essential training, conferences and travel, a freeze on postings and foreign assignments, avoiding any assembly that involves more than 50 personnel and postponing all courses for officers.
