A station house officer and his gunman were among the four people to test positive for Covid-19 in Phagwara on Saturday.
Kapurthala superintendent of police Manpreet Singh said the SHO and his team members had been home quarantined and cops were being screening for Covid-19.
The police department is already burdened due to added responsibilities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and the increasing number of policemen testing positive or being quarantined is adding to their woes. Around 25 police personnel in Jalandhar and Kapurthala have tested positive so far, while around 60 personnel had to be home quarantined.
Cops from different police stations, including a DSP level officer, have tested positive.
“All cops have been working overtime for the past three months due to the pandemic. Now, cops are testing positive which will burden the other cops,” a senior police officer said, on request of anonymity.
Jalandhar senior superintendent of police Navjot Singh Mahal said they had been screening all cops s part of a special drive and so far six people had been found positive and around 20 were home quarantined.
He said the cops were at higher risk as they interact with the public and also assist the health department in transporting Covid-19 patients from different locations to hospitals.
“Considering this, a drive has been launched to screen all cops. We are not deploying cops aged above 55 and those with pre-existing medical risk on the frontline,” SSP said.
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