Indian Army reports first case of coronavirus

At the quarantine facility in Manesar set up by the army over the last two weeks. Express photo by Gajendra Yadav.

In a first confirmed case of coronavirus in the Indian Army, a 34-year-old soldier in Leh tested positive for the disease after coming in contact with his father, who had returned from a pilgrimage to Iran. The jawan was on leave when his father arrived from Iran on February 27. The father, however, was only quarantined on February 29 at the Ladakh Heart Foundation. He tested positive for COVID-19 on March 6 and has been in isolation at SNM Hospital ever since.

The jawan, who reported back to duty on March 2, was helping his family during his father’s quarantine. He also spent some time at Chuchot village, where his family resides. The soldier was quarantined on March 7 and tested positive on March 16, and has been isolated at the same hospital as his father. The jawan’s sister, wife and two children have also been quarantined at SNM Heart Foundation.

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The number of cases in India rose to 147 on Wednesday, a day after the country reported its third death due to the coronavirus. The latest fatality was a 63-year-old man from Mumbai, who had a travel history to Dubai.

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A man cleans a bus in Mumbai amid fears of Coronavirus(File)

A fresh case of coronavirus was reported Wednesday in Pune taking number of patients in Pune to eight, and 10 in PCMC.

So far, 41 cases have been reported in Maharashtra, 10 in Delhi, 16 in Haryana, 11 in Karnataka, 27 in Kerala, four in Rajasthan,  five in Telangana, three in Jammu and Kashimir, eight in Ladakh, 15 Uttar Pradesh, one in Uttarakhand and West Bengal, Odisha, Punjab and Tamil Nadu.

The Union Health Minister on Tuesday recommended the use of anti-HIV drugs on a “case-to-case basis” for “high-risk patients” aged above 60 years with underlying conditions. The directive comes after two COVID-positive Italian tourists — a 69-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife — who were administered the Lopinavir/Ritonavir combination, usually a second-line HIV medication, recovered in Jaipur.