Coronavirus pandemic | 37 BSF personnel test positive for COVID-19; total cases 54

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Border Security Force (BSF) on May 3 jumped to 54 after 37 more personnel tested positive for the disease, an official said.

The fresh cases were reported from a unit of the BSF's 126th battalion in Delhi and from Tripura.

The Delhi unit was deployed in Jama Masjid and Chandni Mahal areas of the national capital on law-and-order duties under the command of Delhi Police.

"A total of 25 troops from this unit deployed in Delhi tested positive for the disease on Sunday. Six from the unit had tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday," a spokesperson of the border-guarding force said.

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The unit has a total of 94 personnel and five test reports are awaited, he added.

Twelve more cases were reported from units based in Tripura where two troopers had tested positive on Saturday, he said.

So far, 54 BSF personnel have been found infected with the coronavirus infection, including some cases from a unit hospital in Delhi's R K Puram and two from Tripura, the spokesperson said.

The 2.5-lakh-personnel-strong BSF 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.