C'garh: 107 new virus cases including 7 paramilitary jawans

The worst Maoist-affected Sukma district recorded coronavirus cases for the first time with three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans, belonging to 2nd battalion, testing positive, the official said. They had been kept in a quarantine centre in Sukma town after they returned from their native states, he said.

The number of coronavirus cases in Chhattisgarh increased to 2,134 after 107 people, including four ITBP and three CRPF personnel, tested positive on Saturday, a health official said. Besides, an elderly COVID-19 patient died at a hospital here, taking the number of coronavirus fatalities in the state to 11, he said.

As many as 63 patients were discharged from hospitals across the state following recovery, he said. "53 new cases were reported from Rajnandgaon district, 25 from Janjgir-Champa district, seven from Raigarh, six from Balrampur, five from Durg, four from Narayanpur, three from Sukma and two from Korba while one case each came from Raipur and Bilaspur districts," he said.

"Four Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel, belonging to 45th battalion, tested positive in Narayanpur," a police official said. They had been kept in a quarantine centre of the paramilitary force in Narayanpur town after they returned earlier this month from their home states, he said.

Earlier, seven ITBP personnel had tested positive for virus in Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon and Kondagaon districts. The worst Maoist-affected Sukma district recorded coronavirus cases for the first time with three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans, belonging to 2nd battalion, testing positive, the official said.

They had been kept in a quarantine centre in Sukma town after they returned from their native states, he said. The CRPF and ITBP are deployed in the state for anti-Naxal operations.

Earlier in the evening, a 70-year-old man, admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Raipur, died due to co-morbidities and viral infection, a PRO of the institute said. The man had advanced stage of lung cancer, he added.

The number of active cases in the state stands at 755, as 1,368 people have been discharged after recovery while 11 have died due to the infection so far. Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 figures are as follows: positive cases 2,134, new cases 107, deaths 11, discharged 1,368, active cases 755, people tested so far 1,23,983.