Police make up 9% of total Covid-19 victims
A total of 113 police personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours while 854 policemen have been infected across the country
Police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have been in the frontline since the very beginning of the country's bid to check coronavirus transmission.
Despite the risks, they are not hesitating to lay down their lives for this cause.
A total of 113 police personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours while 854 policemen have been infected across the country, according to the Police Headquarters sources.
This total number of infections makes up over 9 percent of the total confirmed cases in the country.
The sources said among the 854 policemen infected with the virus, 449 were members of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Five policemen have died from the Covid-19 till Sunday.
So far, 1,250 policemen have been put to home quarantine while 315 are in isolation and 57 policemen have fully recovered from the infection.
SM Ruhul Amin, additional inspector general of Police Headquarters, told The Business Standard that most members of rankers police live in barracks. There are not enough facilities here. It is the main reason for rising infection among the police.
Meanwhile, 5 police members died in the last four days in their valiant battle against the deadly virus. The latest victim was 44-year-old Sultanul Arefin, a sub-inspector of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), who died on Saturday.
As of Saturday, 8,790 people have tested positive for Covid-19 across the country, while 175 have died.
According to police headquarters, 741 policemen were infected with the coronavirus across the country till Saturday noon. Of them, 356 victims were from the DMP alone, accounting for more than 48 percent.
Of the five people who died, four were working in the DMP. Another was working as a member of the Special Branch of police in Dhaka.
DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam told The Business Standard that all measures are being taken as per doctors' advice to safeguard policemen on duty from getting infected with the coronavirus. And, the victims are being treated.
Several senior police officials said that about 200,000 police personnel were fighting the coronavirus. Among them, police members ranking from constable to sub-inspector were working directly in the field.
Sub-inspectors, assistant sub-inspectors and constables are doing risky work, including ensuring social distancing, controlling the situation by going to spots during labour movements for salary and allowance, bringing Covid-19 patients to the hospital and burying the infected person after death. As a result, they are more at risk of being infected.
In addition, lower-ranking police members live in crowded barracks where they have to share many things, including the toilet, with others, which make them more vulnerable.
After the DMP, Narayanganj police and RAB have been infected the most, with 72 of their members tested positive to the virus so far.
