Bengaluru BSF training camp off as 34 troopers test positive for COVID-19

As many as 34 security personnel of the Border Security Force (BSF) who came from Shillong in Meghalaya have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Yelahanka BSF camp in Karnataka, sources in the health department said on Wednesday.

The authorities have quarantined 90 soldiers, who came in contact with them as a precautionary measure.

More than a 1,000 soldiers have arrived in Bengaluru for training from various states across the country. As Covid infection has been found among the troopers, the training has been cancelled, sources said.

The health department is also conducting Covid tests on all soldiers in the camp on Wednesday to ascertain the exact situation and the number of infections to initiate precautionary measures.

Sources explained that a 150-troopers-contingent had come to Bengaluru camp for training from Shillong on September 15. After three to four days, few soldiers developed symptoms of cough, cold and fever.

The authorities have conducted checks on all 150 soldiers as the North Eastern states recorded a high number of Covid infections on September 19.

Twenty soldiers are being admitted to the Devanahalli General hospital and others are quarantined at BSF Covid Care Centre, sources said.

With this development, the BSF base has become one of the major Covid clusters in Bengaluru with a large number of positive cases.

The entire BSF camp premises has been sanitized to avoid spreading of the disease, sources say.