Tripura has recorded 152 coronavirus cases – the highest among all the states in North East.
The Border Security Force (BSF) is proving to be a concern for Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and his government. Tripura, which shares a long border with Bangladesh has many BSF battalions manning the Indo-Bangladesh border. Most of the new cases are from two battalions of the BSF in Dhalai district.
After taking into account the fresh cases, the state government declared Dhalai district as a red zone and marked five locations — two battalion headquarters, a base camp at Gandacherra, a border outpost with Bangladesh at Kareena and Kamalpur town — as containment zones.
Expressing concern, Additional Chief Secretary (health) SK Rakesh said, “The numbers have increased all of a sudden. We are hoping that the virus will not spread further as it has been contained within the BSF battalion’s headquarters. However, we are ready to deal with any situation. Currently, the government is upgrading the facilities at GB Pant Hospital.”
The massive spike in the number of COVID-19 cases had prompted the Biplab Kumar Deb-led state government to re-think its strategy in the fight against coronavirus.
The state government has already urged the BSF to conduct an inquiry into how the virus has spread among its men.