JEYPORE: In the first ever detection of coronavirus among forces posted in Maoist-infested Koraput district, two jawans of 202 CoBRA unit of the CRPF at Sunabeda tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday.On the day, six fresh coronavirus cases, including the two jawans, were reported from the district. The duo was in quarantine in the Sunabeda camp.
Sources said that 192 CoBRA commandos were quarantined in the camp and swabs of 118 jawans were taken for tests. The results of only two were found positive.While one of the jawans had come to the district from West Bengal, the other returned from Cuttack on June 5. The duo has been admitted to Jeypore Covid hospital.
The administration has declared the entire barrack area as containment zone. Swabs of other CoBRA jawans would be collected for tests. The rest four positive cases were detected from different temporary medical centres (TMCs) in the district. The cases include a woman from Daliamb TMC under Semiliguda block who had returned from New Delhi.
Besides, an inmate of Mahuli TMC under Boipariguda with a travel history to Kerala and two others from Ramgiri TMC in the same block who had returned from Mumbai also tested positive. They too have been admitted to the Covid hospital.
A health official said contact tracing of all the four patients is underway. So far, around 120 contacts have been traced. “These contacts will be be medically examined soon,” he said. The TMCs which reported the positive cases have been declared containment zones. With this, the total number of coronavirus cases rose to 23 in the district. As many as 16 patients have recovered so far.