Jawan tests positive, BSF HQ floors sealed

NEW DELHI : Two floors of the Border Security Force (BSF) headquarters in Delhi were sealed on Monday after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

In a statement, BSF spokesperson Shubendu Bhardwaj said a head constable was found to have contracted the infection on Sunday. He was working in an office on the second floor of the BSF headquarters and last visited the premises on May 1. The statement said the first and second floors of the building have been closed as a precaution.

All drills for sanitisation are being undertaken, BSF said, adding that contact-tracing was also underway.

BSF added that before the constable tested positive, its headquarters — an eight-storey building in the CGO complex on Lodhi Road in central Delhi — were closed on Friday, and the entire complex was thoroughly sanitised with prescribed solutions of disinfectants.

BSF said on Sunday 42 of its personnel have been infected with Covid-19 so far. Of these, 31 belong to a 98-member unit that was deployed with the Delhi Police at the headquarters of Islmaic sect Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin, which emerged as a major hot spot of the infection about a month ago.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)’s 140-odd personnel were found to have contracted the infection till Sunday. On Sunday, the CRPF headquarters were sealed after a head constable attached to a senior officer tested positive.

BSF, with 250,000 personnel, is primarily tasked with guarding the Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, apart from rendering a variety of duties in the country’s internal security domain.

ALL DRILLS FOR SANITISATION ARE BEING UNDERTAKEN, BSF SAID, ADDING THAT CONTACTTRACING WAS ALSO UNDERWAY