Army Suspends All Wargames, Trainings As Soldier Tested Positive For Coronavirus

The Indian Army reported its first case of the coronavirus after a 34-year-old soldier from the Ladakh Scout regiment tested positive for the infection in Leh, army sources said on Wednesday. Following this, the India Army has issued an advisory to all commands regarding COVID-19. “All wargames and conferences are hereby postponed till further orders. All training activities to be postponed or cancelled, in view of the current circumstances,” the advisory reads.

The soldier, a resident of Chuhot village in Leh, came in contact with his father, who had returned from a pilgrimage in Iran by an Air India flight on February 20 and tested positive for COVID-19, sources said. Before being quarantined at the Ladakh Heart Foundation on February 29, the soldier’s father had met the family members. 

The soldier was on leave from February 25 and rejoined duty on March 2, sources said, adding he was quarantined on March 7 and tested positive on March 16. Even the soldier’s brother has tested positive, sources said.

Meanwhile, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said the total number of Indians infected by coronavirus abroad is 276 -- 255 in Iran, 12 in UAE, five in Italy, and one each in Hong Kong, Kuwait, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka.

Incidentally, Muraleedharan on Tuesday announced that he has quarantined himself at his residence in the national capital as a precautionary measure after a medical institute he had visited recently in south India reported a COVID-19 case. Though, he had tested negative for the infection.

While there were 14 fresh cases of coronavirus cases reported since Tuesday, the first case in the armed forces prompted the army to further strengthen its check and prevention mechanism by taking additional steps, including checking soldiers for flu symptoms on their return from leave and cancelling non-essential travel and conferences.

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The army also announced the suspension of wargames, conferences and training activities.

The total tally of 151 include 25 foreign nationals and the three persons who died after getting the infection, which has killed 7,500 people globally and infected nearly 200,000 others.

With PTI Inputs