A 28-year-old woman from Pune and a 34-year-old soldier have become the latest to test positive for COVID-19 or the coronavirus disease in India on Wednesday. Army sources said the soldier—the first COVID-19 case in the armed forces—is a resident of Chuhot village in Leh.
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The soldier, came in contact with his father who had already contracted the infection. His father had returned from a pilgrimage in Iran by an Air India flight on February 20 and is in quarantine at the Ladakh Heart Foundation since February 29. The soldier was on leave from February 25 and rejoined duty on March 2. He was quarantined on March 7 and tested positive on March 16, sources said.
The Pune woman has a travel history to France and the Netherlands, a senior official said on Wednesday. With this, the number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra has gone up to 42. Confirming the case, District Collector, Naval Kishore Ram said, "The woman returned India on March 15. She was admitted to hospital here on March 17".
The soldier has been isolated at the Sonam Nurboo Memorial (SNM) Hospital. His sister, wife and two children are also quarantined at SNM Heart Foundation. "Even though the soldier had rejoined duty, he was helping his family during his father's quarantine period and stayed at Chuchot village for sometime as well," they said.
With the two new cases, the total number of coronavirus positive cases in India has risen to 147, including 122 Indian nationals and 25 foreign nationals.