Bhubaneswar cops undergo Covid-19 test
BHUBANESWAR: The unfortunate death of a Covid-19-affected police officer in Ludhiana and another cop in Indore on Saturday prompted the commissionerate police to go for massive sample testing of their personnel on lockdown duty. On Sunday, the samples of at least 200 police personnel were collected and sent to the designated testing laboratories in Bhubaneswar. The reports of the test are awaited.
“We, in collaboration with the health department, organised the sample collection on the reserve police line campus. All those police personnel, who were possibly exposed to the virus, are being tested. The personnel, who are deployed in the containment and hotspot zones here, will also be tested,” additional commissioner of police Anup Kumar Sahoo said.
Though the massive sample collection started on Sunday, the police had earlier subjected at least 34 cops to the Covid-19 test following the detection of a positive case in Badagada. All of them tested negative for the virus.
Police in Bhubaneswar have been on their toes as the capital city has so far reported the bulk of the novel coronavirus positive cases in the state. Of the 61 positive cases in Odisha, altogether 46 are from Bhubaneswar. Of the 46 patients in Bhubaneswar, 17 have recovered and one has died.
The state police headquarters has also asked the SPs in other districts to facilitate the collection of swab samples of their personnel. “We have been sensitising our personnel to the importance of remaining safe as they are among the frontline warriors fighting Covid-19. Adequate face masks and shields have been provided to the police personnel, who have been enforcing the lockdown regulations,” a senior police officer said.
Earlier, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had praised the police personnel for playing a key role in containing the spread of Covid-19 and enforcing the lockdown across the state. Naveen had also directed the cops to adopt zero-tolerance against lockdown violators. “Thousands of policemen are making personal and family sacrifices in joining our fight against Covid-19. Let us honour their sacrifices by staying home and maintaining social distance,” Naveen had said.
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