Indian Army, IAF And Navy Reported Nearly 20,000 COVID-19 Cases: Government

New Delhi, September 16: The Indian Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy have together reported nearly 20,000 coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, the government said on Wednesday. In response to a question regarding the number of COVID-19 in armed forces, Union Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik said: The number of COVID-19 cases in Army, Navy and Air Force are 16,758, 1,365 and 1,716 respectively." Coronavirus in India: Live Map.

While 32 personnel of the Indian Army died of COVID-19, three from the IAF also succumbed to the deadly virus. No deaths due to coronavirus have been reported in the Indian Navy. Asked if any compensation was provided to deceased personnel's families, Shripad Naik replied: "There is no special compensation for deaths occurring due to infectious diseases while in service. However, all deaths while in service are awarded terminal benefits."

The data was shared in response to questions asked by Congress lawmaker Revanth Reddy. India's COVID-19 tally on Wednesday crossed the grim mark of 50 lakh after a massive spike of 90,123 new cases, including 1,290 deaths the previous day. Out of the total 50,20,359 cases, 9,95,933 are active, 39,42,360 have been discharged, while 82,066 lost the battle against the viral disease.

The overall number of global coronavirus cases has surpassed the 29.6 million mark, while the deaths have increased to over 935,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University. As of Wednesday evening, the total number of cases stood at 29,607,590 and the fatalities rose to 935,871, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 16, 2020 06:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).