The fresh cases have been reported more than a week after the state was declared "corona free"
More than a week after Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb declared the state "corona free" and urged people to follow social distancing norms, he said on Sunday that his government is "working vigilantly" after 25 jawans from one unit of the Border Security Force or BSF tested positive for coronavirus - all from the same unit.
While two jawans of the unit in Dhalai - about 90 km from state capital Agartala - had tested positive on Saturday, test results of 12 others revealed they had COVID-19 on Sunday. In Delhi, 31 cases have been reported by one of the units which takes the total number of cases in BSF to 63 so far.
In a tweet, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb wrote: "Alert! 12 persons from 138th #BSF unit Ambassa found #COVID19 positive. Total #COVID19 positive cases in Tripura stands at 16 (2 already discharged, so active cases : 14) Don't panic, follow the Gov't guidelines. We are working vigilantly for your safety. #TripuraCOVID19Count (sic)."
13 others tested positive today which includes 11 BSF jawans and two children from the BSF unit. This takes the total number of cases in Tripura to 29.
Dhalai district, which was a green zone till Saturday, has now been declared a red zone today.
The northeastern state - where several batallions of the BSF are posted - has a 856-km long border with Bangladesh; the state government has taken up the matter with the ministry of Home Affairs, sources have said.
Tripura reported its first case on April 6 when a 44- year-old woman from Udaipur town in Gomati district had tested positive for coronavirus. The 44-year-old woman, who was infected with the highly infectious virus, later recovered. The patient had tested positive at the Agartala Medical College Hospital.
The second COVID19 positive case was reported on April 10. A 32-year-old man, who is from Madhya Pradesh, tested positive for COVID-19. He later tested negative for the infection and was discharged from hospital.
Last week, the Chief Minister said that people have to accept the lockdown "as a part of their lives" until a vaccine is developed for the coronavirus pandemic. ""It is not that easy to exit lockdown until a vaccine is invented. People have to accept lockdown as part of our lives and people here understands this," he said.