145 police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in Bengaluru

Nearly 1,300 personnel have received booster shots

January 12, 2022 12:20 pm | Updated 12:20 pm IST - Bengaluru

Police videographing the Congress padayatra near Kanakapura on Monday

Police videographing the Congress padayatra near Kanakapura on Monday

Maintaining law and order and ensuring that people adhere to the government restrictions while ensuring the safety of police personnel has become a challenge for the Bengaluru City Police. As of Tuesday, 145 police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19. While 137 are currently under home isolation, the remaining have recovered and reported back to duty.

The city police along with doctors and other COVID-19 warriors were among the first to receive both doses of the vaccine. Taking note of this, City Police Commissioner Kamal Pant said the emphasis is on ensuring that all police personnel get a booster dose without delay. A nodal officer of the rank of Additional Commissioner of Police has been appointed to supervise this exercise. “We are giving emphasis on vaccanications and ensuring that members of the force get their booster dose. The drive was launched a few days ago, and to date 1,283 personnel got their booster doses,” said Mr. Pant.

With the number of cases on the rise, jurisdictional officers have been given a set of SOPs to be followed which includes sanitisation and home quarantine. However, the unprecedented surge has personnel worried.

“Since the police are COVID warriors and first responders to the enforcement duty, we have be mentally and physically strong. Luckily, not even a single case in the BCP required hospitalisation. But we are not taking any chances, and are looking at the option of having a COVID Care Centre ready in case of an emergency situation,” said a senior senior policer

And while the cases are mild, police personnel at the ground level are apprehensive as they don’t want to infect vulnerable members of their family. “We are grateful for the support from the department but still we worry about our families and relatives. We don’t want to spread the infection,” said a police personnel who tested positive and is presently under home quarantine.

West Division worst hit

The West Division is among the worst hit. So far, 60 personnel from the division have tested positive for COVID-19. “We have to monitor Majestic and market areas. There are also commercial hubs where footfalls remain high,” said a police official.

According to a senior police officer, the total strength of police personnel in the city is 19,094. Of these, 15,346 police personnel have received both doses, while the remaining 3,748 have got their first dose. The department has already started to give booster doses and also directed the remaining personnel to get their second shot soon.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.