85 trainee IAS officers, faculty test Covid +ve

MUSSOORIE: At least 85 trainee Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officers and faculty members have tested positive for Covid-19 at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie on Wednesday, health officials said.

“The trainee IAS officers reached the Dehradun railway station on Sunday following which their RT-PCR test was conducted. Tests were also conducted at Mussoorie academy campus. At least 85 IAS trainees and faculty members tested positive,” said Dr Rajiv Dikshit, the health nodal officer at Dehradun. “The number could rise after we receive all the reports.”

Dr Yatinder Singh, the chief medical superintendent of the combined health centre at government civil hospital, said, “The testing was done at the railway station on Sunday. Around 85 cases have been confirmed and”.

A containment zone has been created inside the academy campus where a medical team is examining all employees and IAS trainees. An inquiry has been launched to find out the reasons behind the outbreak, LBSNAA officials said.

As many as 489 civil services officers of the 96th foundation course and several faculty members were part of the field study and research programme that began on December 27. Under the programme, the IAS trainees had to visit villages around international borders across the country to be sensitised towards the realities of rural India and gain knowledge on the functioning of defence forces.

The officers might have been infected during the training period and the contact tracing could reveal more positive cases in the coming days. Everyone’s health is being checked on the campus, academy officials said.

Dr Virendra Pangti, health in charge at LBSNAA academy campus, has been directed to home isolate all infected and provide necessary medication, Dr Yatinder Singh said.

“Apart from these cases, the situation is under control in Mussoorie with 50 cases being reported in the past two days and all the infected persons have been advised to stay quarantined at home,” he added.

The state on Wednesday reported 4,402 fresh Covid-19 cases and six deaths.