At a check post erected at Derabassi on the Derabassi-Barwala turn, the policemen who had barricaded the road with two trucks faced a hard time in managing the traffic chaos. (File/Representational Image)
AN ARMY doctor’s 18 ‘high risk’ contacts have been placed under quarantine in New Delhi after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
The doctor, an officer of the rank of Lt Colonel, working in the Directorate General Medical Services (Army), has been placed under medical supervision. Two ‘low risk’ category contacts are also under observation.
An Army spokesperson told The Indian Express that the 18 high risk contacts of the doctor include his wife and daughter. The Army has denied reports that the officer had visited quarantine facilities set up by it in the vicinity of the national capital.
“One officer in these 18 high risk contacts is symptomatic and has been admitted. Rest are in home quarantine,” the spokesperson said.
The doctor’s office block has been sanitised and locked till April 19, his residence building has been quarantined and fumigation of other buildings visited by the officer has also been done.
Interviews and testing of those who may have come in contact with the doctor are being conducted as per established protocol, said the spokesperson.
This is the fourth coronavirus case detected in the Army. Another Army doctor who tested positive in Kolkata is still under medical supervision, but recovering.
The other two cases are — a jawan of Ladakh Scouts posted in Ladakh and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) posted near Dehradun in Uttrakhand. Both are also in the recovery phase.
The Army has taken a series of steps to enforce isolation of its personnel in military stations and cantonments across the country to protect the troops and their families from infection. Entry and exit from military areas is being closely monitored and no gathering of any sort is being allowed.
Meanwhile, the Army has also asked that care be taken while responding to emails regarding coronavirus as there have been instances where these have turned out yo be phishing attempts through attachments to emails.