5 BSF men suffering from chronic kidney disease, cancer recover from COVID-19

Five BSF personnel suffering from chronic kidney disease and cancer are among the 74 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) personnel who have recovered from the novel coronavirus disease, as per official data issued on Sunday.

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These five paramilitary forces -- the Central Reserve Police Force, Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police force and the Sashastra Seema Bal -- also saw 28 fresh cases of COVID-19, taking their combined active cases to 680, as per data accessed by PTI.

"Thirteen personnel have been discharged since yesterday (Saturday) after they tested negative for coronavirus," BSF spokesperson Shubhendu Bhardwaj said.

"These include five brave bordermen who got infected while undergoing treatment of their other ongoing battle with CKD-V that is a chronic kidney ailment (three men) and cancer (two personnel)," he said.

The official added that the personnel being discharged will undergo another round of quarantine before joining work.

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BSF, the 2.5 lakh personnel-strong force that guards India's fronts with Pakistan and Bangladesh, now has 205 active cases apart from two deaths due to the pandemic.

Overall, 148 BSF personnel have recovered from the disease till now, Bhardwaj added.

The CRPF also saw 54 more recoveries, taking down the tally of its overall active cases to 174 apart from the death of a Sub-Inspector rank official last month.

Its 31st battalion based in Delhi, that became a COVID-19 hotspot as about 137 personnel were infected within its campus in Mayur Vihar phase-III area, has seen close to 100 recoveries now.

The country's largest paramilitary CRPF, with a strength of 3.25 lakh personnel, reported no fresh case of coronavirus infection to its troops.

The ITBP, that guards the 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), saw 13 fresh cases and 164 of its personnel are under treatment for COVID-19 at present.

The chief of the 90,000 personnel-strong force, S S Deswal, also issued a statement for his under-treatment officials saying they should not feel demoralised and the ITBP will ensure the best medical treatment and health care facilities for them.

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Deswal said in his message that he is assured that the personnel suffering from the disease will get well soon and join the border guarding force to serve the country with dedication again.

The 1.62 lakh personnel-strong CISF also saw five fresh COVID-19 cases with four in the unit that guards the Delhi Metro and one in the wing that secures important government installations in the national capital.

The CISF, designated as the national aviation security force, also reported seven recoveries and its active cases now stand at 116.

It had seen the highest number of deaths, at three, from the viral disease among the CAPFs.

The Nepal and Bhutan borders guarding force SSB reported no fresh case for the second straight day as 21 of its personnel are under treatment for the disease.

A senior CAPF official said the new guidelines for treatment and discharge of COVID-19-exposed and infected people has led to many troops of these forces being discharged as most of the positive personnel were asymptomatic and had a high level of immunity.

These forces, about 10 lakh men and women in combined strength and under the command of the Union home ministry, have had six deaths from the pandemic.