Three trainee soldier craftsmen test positive for Coronavirus

Three soldier craftsmen undergoing training at the Military Station in Vadodara have tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Friday. This is the first instance in Gujarat wherein members of armed forces have been infected with coronavirus, which has claimed over 100 lives in the state so far.

These trainee soldiers were admitted to government-run SSG Hospital in Vadodara, over 100km from here, on April 22 after their medical reports came positive for COVID-19, said a statement issued by defence PRO for Gujarat, Puneet Chadha. "Three soldier craftsmen undergoing training at the Military Station in Baroda (Vadodara) tested COVID-19 positive on April 22.

"All protocols were followed and necessary actions taken by the Army authorities. All three jawans have been admitted to SSG Hospital," the statement said, adding that the military station premises was sanitised by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) after these cases emerged. As many as 40 persons, who came in contact with these jawans, have been home quarantined as a precautionary measure.

According to the VMC officials, these trainee soldiers are from Madhya Pradesh and came to Vadodara for training well before the lockdown was imposed last month. Vadodara Municipal Commissioner N B Upadhyay refuted the theory that the soldiers contracted the infection at a nearby ATM centre.

"We find no credence in that theory. If the ATM was the culprit, then we would have received many more cases, which is not the case at present," Upadhyay said. Forty persons, who came in their contact in and outside the military station, have been put under home quarantine, he added.