Number of Maharashtra Maharashtra: Police personnel infected with Covid-19 crosses 2,000

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Mumbai: The number of Maharashtra Police personnel infected by the coronavirus touched 2,095 on Thursday morning, with a majority of the cases recorded in Mumbai.

Of the 2,095 personnel who have been infected, 1,859 are from the constabulary while 236 are of the rank of sub-inspector and above. Police personnel in Mumbai alone accounted for 1,203 cases.

Another 6,000 police personnel who were in contact with the infected personnel have been quarantined.

The 200,000-strong police force has seen 22 personnel succumb to Covid-19.

A total of 131 new Covid-19 cases were recorded among police personnel on Wednesday.

“But the fear the Coronavirus had created [within the force] initially has gone now,” said a senior IPS officer who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This happened after 897 police personnel recovered after being infected with the virus, the officer added.

“The initial days saw a lot of panic within the ranks. But now, the men have understood that if their immune system is strong, the virus will not affect them in an adverse manner. Young officers are more than willing to work,” the officer said.

Vinayak Deshmukh, assistant inspector general of police (Maharashtra), confirmed the total number of cases and said, “To ensure we do not face operational issues due to manpower crunch, we have taken help from 10,000 home guard personnel.

“We had also asked for 20 companies, comprising around 1,200 personnel, of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Rapid Action Force (RAF). We have got 10 companies till now, which have been posted strategically across the state,” he said.

As a precautionary measure, Maharashtra Police have given the option to all personnel aged 55 years, and others above 50 with health issues, of staying at home. Those from these categories who volunteer to work have been assigned only to administrative posts, where it has been ensured that they have very little or no contact with people.