134 more cops test positive

Police personnel manning checkpoints and quarantine control points were the ones mainly hit by the viral respiratory disease

The Philippine National Police (PNP) logged 134 more confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases among its personnel, hiking the total number of infections so far at 1,223.

According to the latest data released by the PNP Health Service (PNPHS), 130 of the new cases came from Police Regional Office 4A (PRO-4A), or CALABARZON, while the four others were from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO).

The number of recoveries is now at 501, while COVID-19-related deaths remain at nine.

The PNPHS is also monitoring 1,431 suspected cases and 666 probable cases.

PNP chief, PGen. Archie Gamboa earlier said police personnel manning checkpoints and quarantine control points were the ones mainly hit by the viral respiratory disease.

He then assured that there will be enough personnel available for deployment, mostly from the national headquarters in Camp Crame, while the infected cops are on quarantine and recovering.

“The PNP is now at 209,000. So, no problem.

There are many of us and there’s always a rotation (of personnel). Here in Crame there are many police officers,” Gamboa said in a press briefing.

“We will deploy and we can afford to deploy our PNP personnel. Plus, by reason of testing and quarantine, it doesn’t take that long,” he added.

Once an infected police front liner has recovered, he or she will first undergo an additional 14-day quarantine and be subjected to another reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

If they test negative, they are given 10 more days of rest before being reintegrated to active duty.

PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SBG Following protocol With their masks on and seated apart, locally-stranded individuals board the bus (inset) that would take them to their respective hometowns as part of the government’s Hatid Tulong program.