Mumbai: At least 21 Indian Navy personnel at INS Angre in Mumbai have tested positive for Covid-19, triggering concerns among the top military brass. The INS Angre is a shore-based logistics and support establishment of the Western Naval Command.
According to officials, 20 of the 21 are sailors and they have been placed in quarantine at the naval hospital INHS Asvini in Mumbai’s Colaba. They said 14 of the 20 are asymptomatic. The sailors had stayed in the same residential block at INS Angre and are said to have been infected by a Navy personnel who tested positive a week ago.
"A total of 21 serving personnel have been tested positive for COVID-19 within naval premises at Mumbai. This number includes 20 sailors of INS Angre, a shore establishment," the Navy said in a statement.
There has been no case of coronavirus onboard any of the ships and submarines of the Indian Navy.
The Navy is looking into the possibility of the men having moved around within the Navy facilities for essential duties even though the city is otherwise under lockdown.
The Naval dockyard in Mumbai, which houses the bulk of the sword arm of the Western Naval Command including its warships and submarines, lies just a few hundred metres away from INS Angre.
It is the first such case of a sizeable number of military personnel being treated for COVID-19. The Indian Army has reported eight cases of the deadly virus so far.
The Navy Chief in an address to his men on April 19 had asked his men to "pray for the best, but prepare for the worst."
The services have sealed of cantonments, naval bases and air force stations to control the spread of the virus. All social gatherings, travel, leaves and conferences have been cancelled.
The scare of 20 navy personnel being infected comes at a time when both the US and French Navy are facing a massive outbreak on their war ships.
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