Reza Mahmud :
Coronavirus infections among the police personnel in the country.
A total of 854 police members have so far been infected including 113 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to data of Police Headquarters.
Sadly five infected police personnel died by this time.
The increasing infections among the police personel created anxiety among their family members.
Experts have urged the police to wear adequate protection gears to protect themselves from infection.
“While exercising duties, police speak and advise mass people. That is why they pose a great risk of contamination,” Professor Nazrul Islam of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, told The New Nation on Sunday.
He said police personnel have to wear adequate protective gears during their duties.
“But they do not wear the personal protective equipment (PPE), rather wear their own uniform only which is not protective from the virus infections. In these circumstances, the infections are increasing sharply,” Professor Nazrul Islam said.
Experts and police officials said, police personnel are always busy to maintain law and order even during the lockdown.
“Whenever we find people to violate social distancing in different lanes, we sharply move and dismantle them. In the meantime we have come to contact with them. It is not been own who is virus infected and who is not. We frequently come in contact such persons always. Who know when some of our colleagues are infected from such a condition,” said one police personnel preferring anonymity.
He said, “When people from different walks of life are staying home safely. We are on duty in streets to ensure social distancing and lockdown.”
“On return from duty police should change the dress as per guidelines and take complete soap bath. The dress should be properly washed with detergent and hot water before rinsing and drying to reuse,” Professor Dr. M. Muzaherul Huq, the former Regional Advisor of World Health Organisation (WHO) told The New Nation on Sunday.
He said, “On entering barracks they should change their dresses for wash with detergents regularly. They should better wear masks even in the barracks for protection while sneezing or coughing.”
“Self-distancing is also maintained as far as possible. Barrack should be disinfected after each shift or on intervals of every 6 hours,” Professor Muzaherul Huq said.
Sources said, about 2,00,000 police members have been discharging their duties to ensure safety of people during this time of the Coronavirus outbreak.
Official data shows that 93 out of the new 113 infection cases are from Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
It also shows that about 315 are in isolation as they showed Covid-19 like symptoms while 1,250 others, who were in close contacts with the infected ones, are put in quarantine.
Police sources said that the 250-bed Central Police Hospital in Dhaka is struggling to accommodate its patients as the number of infections are increasing sharply.
It said that the DMP have rented at least seven hotels to keep their infected members in isolation because the police barracks are overcrowded.
They have also taken some schools for keeping its members in quarantine.
