Covid infection catches police too; 255 cops test positive in five days

LUCKNOW : The Sars-Cov-2 infection is spreading fast among police personnel, exposed to the virus while performing duties on streets and crowded places, senior police officials said here on Thursday.

A senior police official of director general of police headquarters in Lucknow said that as many as 147 police officials and personnel have tested positive in the past two days, while one sub-inspector succumbed to it. He said this figure stands around 255 positive cases in five days between April 10 and 14.

Sharing details, the official said that the total number of active cases in the police department was merely 105 on April 10 but it increased to over three times in just five days. He said as many as 351 police personnel are undergoing treatment currently.

The official said that DGP Hitesh Chandra Awasthy has issued fresh directives to all district police chiefs, police commissioners as well as the heads of other police units and wings to ensure that police personnel adopt Covid-19 appropriate behaviour to keep themselves as well as others safe from getting infected while on duty.

He said that police personnel on duty during panchayat polls have been provided masks and sanitisers to keep themselves protected from the infection. He said they have been asked to maintain social distancing and ensure enforcement of pandemic

AS MANY AS 107 COPS IN FIELD DUTIES IN DIFFERENT DISTS ACROSS UP TESTED +VE IN PAST TWO DAYS, 12 FROM OTHER UNITS, 8 OF PAC, 4 EACH FROM GRP AND POLICE TRAINING CENTRES AND 3 COPS OF DGP

protocols at polling booths as well.

He said the total case count has crossed 13,000 since April 26, 2020.

The official said as many as 107 police personnel in field duties in different districts across the state tested positive in past two days, 12 from other police units, eight of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), while four each from Government Railway Police (GRP) and police training centres, and three personnel of the DGP headquarters building tested positive during the same period.

He said at least 83 police officials and personnel have succumbed to this infection between April 26, 2020, and April 14, 2021. “As many as 69 personnel of district police units, five from PAC, three of other units, two each from the state police headquarters and home guards’ personnel, and one each from GRP and police training centre have died since April 26, 2020,” he said.