Navy personnel who tested positive for COVID-19 traced to single sailor

New Delhi, Apr 18: The Indian Navy personnel who tested positive for COVID-19 in Mumbai are asymptomatic and have been traced to a single sailor who had tested positive on April 7.

The 20 sailors who tested positive are from INS Angre, a shore establishment in Mumbai.

The personnel have been admitted to the naval hospital INHS Asvini in Mumbai's Colaba.

All the sailors are reported to be in their 20s barring one who is 47 years old. All these sailors reside at the same accommodation. All primary contacts of the Navy personnel have been tested for coronavirus and the entire in-living block has been put under quarantine and classified as a containment zone. No cases of infection onboard the ships and submarines have been reported.

The Army has reported 8 positive cases. On Friday, Army Chief, M M Naravane said that the Army had 8 cases of which two are doctors, while one is a nursing assistant. Four are responding well to treatment, he also said.

Our personnel who have not come in contact with any infected person are being moved back to the units. Two special trains have been catered for them between Bengaluru and Jammu and Bengaluru and Guwahati, he had said.

On April 9, the Indian Navy Chief had said that the Navy should plan for the worst. We need to be ready for the worst-case scenario and to my mind, it will be a long battle, he had also said.