Recently, Delhi police commissioner Rakesh Asthana had issued a Standard Operating Procedure for preventing the spread of the coronavirus among police personnel
File image of cops standing guard in New Delhi. News18
The third wave of COVID-19 has started making its presence felt amongst the country’s police force.
In Delhi, nearly 1,000 police personnel, including the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch), have tested positive for the virus.
Additional PRO/Consultant Anil Mittal (Delhi Police) said, “Nearly 1,000 police personnel have been infected with COVID-19 as of now. All of them are under quarantine and will join duty after they fully recover.”
The overall strength of the Delhi Police is over 80,000.
On 5 January, Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana had issued standard operating procedures (SOP), directing the force to go contactless while interacting with people and performing day-to-day policing.
He had said at the time that since the police force were frontline workers, they should take adequate precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19.
The SOP asks all police personnel wear face-masks, maintain social distancing and practise proper hand hygiene while performing their duties. Moreover, they and their families have been asked to vaccinate themselves against the virus.
In Mumbai too, the force has seen a rise in COVID-19 cases. A Hindustan Times report said that on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 48, 73 and 91 more policemen tested positive, respectively, taking the total caseload to 9,657.
At present, nearly 400 police personnel are active COVID-19 patients in the department. The toll of Mumbai police has now reached 124.
In Pune, news agency PTI reported that 232 police personnel have contracted the infection since 3 January.
Only two police personnel are currently admitted in hospital, while the remaining are in home isolation, an official said.
“Out of these 232 infected people, over 30 are police officers and the remaining are other personnel,” he said.
A total of 2,670 police personnel have tested positive ever since March 2020 when the pandemic broke out in the city in Maharashtra.
With inputs from PTI
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