PM calls on COVID-hit armed forces to battle coronavirus crisis

NEW DELHI, April 29: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called on the armed forces seeking their help in tackling the spiralling cases of COVID-19 but many central armed police forces guarding the borders including in North East have already fallen victims to the pandemic.
More than 580 personnel of the central armed police forces (CAPFs) and two other central forces under the command of the Union Home Ministry have been detected positive for coronavirus infection in a 24-hour span, officials said. Maximum cases have been registered in the Nepal and Bhutan border guarding force Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) at 149 followed by 146 in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that primarily guards major civil airports of the country and other critical infrastructure, the sources said.
General MM Naravane informed the PM that medical staff of the Army is being made.
Modi had a meeting with General MM Naravane who apprised him that the Army is opening up its hospitals for civilians wherever possible. He also added that citizens can approach their nearest army hospitals.
The Border Security Force (BSF) at Indian fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh has registered 132 fresh COVID-19 positive cases among its personnel followed by the lead anti-Naxal operations force Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at 119. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) that guards the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China reported 29 fresh cases.
Two other central forces, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the counter-terrorist force, National Security Guard (NSG), reported seven and five coronavirus cases respectively. The data said that fresh cases registered over the last 24 hours, as on April 27, are 587.
Active cases in all these five CAPFs and two other central forces stand at 6,264 while over 55,730 personnel have recovered from the disease.
The country is witnessing a massive second surge of COVID-19 cases leading to shortage of oxygen and hospital beds for the patients.
The maximum cases, at over 18,120, have been registered in the BSF followed by more than 17,640 in the CRPF, over 13,400 in the CISF, 6,779 in the SSB, 5,037 in the ITBP, 748 in NDRF and 406 in the NSG till now.
A total of 230 personnel of these forces, except NSG, have died due to the viral disease till now, the data said.