On Monday afternoon, an assistant sub-inspector of Pune City Police succumbed to the disease at a private hospital, taking the number of police personnel in the state who have succumbed to the disease to four. (Representational)

The number of COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra state police reached 422 by Sunday night. Of these, 116 are from the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), which had been deployed in high-risk areas like Mumbai, Thane and Malegaon earlier, said officials.

As on the night of April 30, the number of police personnel diagnosed with COVID-19 in Maharashtra’s force was 227, which included 30 officers and 197 constables. Three days later, by the night of May 3, the number had increased to 422, which included 43 officers and 379 constables. Of the 422, 34 (eight officers and 26 constables) have already recovered.

On Monday afternoon, an assistant sub-inspector of Pune City Police succumbed to the disease at a private hospital, taking the number of police personnel in the state who have succumbed to the disease to four. The other three are from Mumbai Police.

A senior officer from Maharashtra Police headquarters told The Indian Express, “Most of these cases of COVID infections among cops and those which are coming up are from Mumbai, Thane and Malegaon, or are among the personnel of the SRPF who were deployed in these high-risk areas. We are constantly reviewing the safety measures that have been provided. In cases where required, personal protective equipment are being provided. More and more separation is being followed. For the treatment of affected personnel, hospitals have been designated and separate quarantine facilities have been allocated for police personnel. Police have to work in high-risk environments and so at the affected places, it is also being ensured that duties are allocated to reduce the risk as much as possible.”

The officer added, “Across the state, personnel above the age of 55 and those with medical conditions are being assigned minimum-risk duties. In some places, the functioning of police establishments have become a challenge as a large chunk of the staff remains quarantined. The responsibilities of these police units is being borne by other units.”

Maharashtra  SRPF, whose teams have been deployed for lockdown duties in various parts of the state, had till Sunday night reported a total 116 COVID-19 cases in its units. The Hingoli-based units of the SRPF had the maximum cases, with the number crossing 50. Stringent isolation measures have been put in place in the SRPF units, from where the personnel had gone for duties to other areas, and have returned since.

The count of positive cases in Pune City Police is now 12, where nine are originally from the force and three others had been on deployment from outside units.