With around 10 personnel testing positive for COVID-19, the Navi Mumbai Police have planned to convert one of their buildings in Nerul into a quarantine and isolation centre. Two of the 10 cases, which were detected in a testing drive conducted by the police last month, have recovered.
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The three-storey Savli building at Sector 5 in Nerul, which is meant for housing distressed women rescued by the police, has not been in use for the last few years. Work will start on Saturday and the isolation centre is likely to be ready in the next few days.
“Ten constables attached to APMC police station, Panvel Taluka police station, headquarters, Vahsi traffic police, and Vashi police station have been found positive. Two of them have been discharged. Savli building, once ready, can house around 40 people,” Shivraj Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police, headquarters, said. Besides, the police plan to use the guest house — which has eight rooms and a recreation hall — located on the premises of the headquarters, if needed.
Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said in anticipation that the cases in the department may increase, they are making the arrangements so that police personnel don’t have to go back home and risk their families. “The ground and first floor of Savli building will be for men while the second floor will be for women. As a precaution, we have also provided homoeopathy medicines to all our staff. We have provided each police station with a pulse oximeter, sanitisers, and masks,” he said.
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Besides the 10 positive cases, around 14 police personnel are on home quarantine. Last month, all the staff attached to the Navi Mumbai Police commissionerate were screened in which 155 were found suspicious and their swab tests found two positive cases, who have recovered. “The second round of testing is on and around 750 people have been screened till now,” Mr. Patil said.