Non-compliance of health guidelines and advisories of the Central government was responsible for the spurt in COVID-19 cases in two BSF battalions deployed in Dhalai district of Tripura, said Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday.
The Chief Minister made the observation based on the report of a three-member Central team from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that visited the battalion headquarters at Ambassa and interacted with BSF officers and troopers besides their family members. The team also held meetings with State’s health officials during its two-day visit last month.
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Mr. Deb told newsmen that he received the report from the Health Ministry and copied it to the Home Ministry as the latter has the authority on the border force.
He said 316 cases had been detected till Sunday night. The BSF personnel from the 86th and the 138th battalions and their family members accounted for 163 among them.
The virus cases again saw a spike in the past two weeks with stranded people arriving in special trains from hotspots like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. “Otherwise people in our State are very alert and conscious about the situation and on the importance of taking precautions,” Mr. Deb said citing his visits to rural locations.
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