Two ITBP base camps in HP sealed as 22 jawans test +ve

DHARAMSHALA : The Reckong Peo and Jangi base camps of the 43rd Battalion of the Indo-tibetan Border Police have been declared containment zones and sealed after 22 jawans from the two bases tested positive for Covid-19.

Five jawans tested positive for coronavirus infection on Wednesday at Reckong Peo, while 17 more jawans tested positive at the Jangi camp on Thursday.

The jawans had moved from Jammu to Kinnaur in June and were undergoing the mandatory quarantine before being sent to the forward posts along the Indochina border.

Kinnaur chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Sonam Negi said that he jawans caught the infection in the Jammu region. One team arrived from Rajouri and the other from Handwara.

“Reckong Peo and Jangi base camps are now containment zones and jawans staying there will not be allowed to move out,” he said.

“Since all jawans are in quarantine, there is no chance of community spread,” he added.

A total of 28 ITBP jawans have been tested positive in Himachal in two days. Apart from Kinnaur, six jawans were tested positive at Jeori near Rampur Bushahar town in Shimla district. The six jawans returned from leave and were quarantined at Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) campus.

Himachal Pradesh’s Covid-19 count mounted to 1,033 with 19 more residents of seven districts tested positive.

Six cases were reported in Una, 4 in Kinnaur, three in Hamirpur, two each in Chamba and Kangra and one each in Mandi and Solan.

Chamba chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Rajesh Guleri said that a 47-year-old man from the Salooni subdivision was found positive. He has a travel history to Noida and was under home quarantine.

The second patient is a 50-year-old man from Masrund village of Churah area. The patient has travel history to Delhi and was staying in a paid quarantine facility.

To date, the Chamba district has a total of 54 cases of which eight are active.

Hamirpur patients include two children aged 2 and 10. They are the primary contacts of their Covid-19 positive parents. In Kinnaur an ASHA worker is among 4 positive.

In Mandi, a 26-year-old woman, who returned from Delhi has been tested positive.

Kangra is the worst-hit district in Himachal with 282 cases followed by Hamirpur with 256 cases. Una district recorded 119 cases, Solan 111, Chamba 54, Shimla and Bilaspur 47 each, Sirmaur 40, Mandi 34, Kinnaur 34, Kullu 5 and four in Lahaul-spiti district.

THE STATE’S COVID-19 COUNT MOUNTED TO 1,033 WITH 19 PEOPLE FROM 7 DISTRICTS TESTED POSITIVE