Twelve personnel of the Taloja police station have been quarantined after a man they arrested for a burglary tested positive for COVID-19.
The man was arrested on June 7 and taken to Panvel court the next day. Just before presenting him in court, the police personnel accompanying him learnt that his swab sample had tested positive for COVID-19. Hence, they kept him in the vehicle while one of them presented the remand copy in court.
“As per protocol, he had undergone the swab test after arrest. He was asymptomatic,” senior police inspector Kashinath Chavan from Taloja police station said.
The court granted the accused bail on a personal bond, and he was admitted to Panvel rural hospital. The police then traced all the officials who had come in contact with the accused from the time of his arrest to when he was taken to court. As a precautionary measure, 12 officials have been quarantined and will be tested for COVID-19.
On Thursday, two officers from the NRI Coastal police station were also found to be positive. The officers got themselves tested though they were asymptomatic. They have been quarantined at Savli building in Nerul, which has been set up as a COVID-19 facility for Navi Mumbai Police personnel.
The police station had been provided a four-wheeler to help migrants with transportation and food. The driver of the vehicle tested positive a week ago, and it is suspected that the officers contracted the infection from him.
