25 BSF personnel test positive for COVID-19; total cases 42

The number of COVID-19 cases shot up in the Border Security Force (BSF) on Sunday, with 25 more personnel testing positive for the disease, taking the tally in the force to 42, an official said.

The new cases were reported from a unit of the 126th battalion of the force, deployed in the Jama Masjid and Chandni Mahal areas of the national capital on law-and-order duties under the command of the Delhi Police.

"A total of 25 troops from this unit deployed in Delhi tested positive for the disease on Sunday. Six from the unit had tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday," a spokesperson of the border-guarding force said.

The unit has a total of 94 personnel and five test reports are awaited, he added.

So far, 42 BSF personnel have been found infected with the coronavirus infection, including some cases from a unit hospital in Delhi's R K Puram and two in Tripura, the spokesperson said.

The 2.5-lakh-personnel-strong BSF is primarily tasked with guarding the Indian borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, apart from rendering a variety of duties in the country's internal security domain.