Hundreds of Indian police officers have recently affected by the coronavirus in India.
It is to be noted that the world’s largest lockdown is underway in India and 3 million police personnel are on duty to ensure its implementation.
India has a population of 1.3 billion. It may be recalled that a nationwide lockdown has been going on in India since March 25. According to the latest statistics, there are 52,340 positive cases while 1,768 people have died.
A senior official in the western state of Maharashtra said the number of coronavirus cases in the police force had almost doubled in the past week.
A total of 15,515 cases were reported in the worst-affected state of Maharashtra till Tuesday, he said. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 450 members of the state police force had tested positive and four had died of the virus.
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According to state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, special control rooms are being set up in Maharashtra to deal with medical problems faced by the police. Dozens of police officers in six states are seeking leave for fear of illness, six senior police officers said.
An Indian Home Ministry official said he was aware of the matter and was monitoring the situation. The Mumbai police official said patrolling and crowd control in the areas affected by COVID-19 is becoming dangerous.
According to a senior official, at least 155 police and paramilitary forces in Gujarat are infected with the virus. The police commissioner of the state capital, Ahmedabad, told Reuters that 95 police and paramilitary troops had been hospitalized due to COVID 19.
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A senior Interior Ministry official said he feared the virus could have a positive effect on thousands more police officers and that the virus could be passed on to their families in police housing.
