2 Border Security Force troopers succumb

New Delhi: With two deaths and 41 more fresh cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) in the Border Security Force (BSF), the number of infected personnel rose to 193, highest among all central armed police forces (CAPF). In all, as many as 441 paramilitary personnel have been infected by a coronavirus.

A BSF official said that with braving the challenges of securing frontiers, working with civil administration and shouldering other essential responsibilities, 41 new Covid-19 positive cases have been reported since Wednesday in the force.

All these BSF personnel were engaged in essential duties, said an official.

Till Wednesday, 85 BSF personnel, posted at different locations, were found Covid-19 positive while two have died.

The official said that a critically-ill patient, who had contracted the infection while visiting super speciality clinics for treatment, died while the other trooper died on Monday in Safdarjung hospital, where he was admitted on May 3.

Meanwhile, A 55-year-old Central Industrial Security Force head constable posted at the Mumbai international airport has succumbed to novel coronavirus, a senior official said Thursday.The 1.62-lakh-personnel strong force, tasked primarily to guard civil airports and vital infrastructure in the aerospace and nuclear domain, has reported 32 active COVID-19 cases so far, the official said.

The head constable was admitted to a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday and he later succumbed to the infection, they said, adding he was posted at the Mumbai international airport.

This is the fourth death among paramilitary forces with two being in the Border Security Force and one in the Central Reserve Police Force.