West Bengal: 40 cops at PTS test Covid-19 +ve on a day

KOLKATA: Forty personnel at Police Training School (PTS) have tested positive for Covid-19, registering the single-largest spike in cases among Kolkata Police so far. The confirmation came on Monday, following which all were admitted to a private Covid hospital in Jadavpur.
The Lake Town police station IC has also been found infected.
With 27 cops from PTS testing positive earlier, the total number of Covid cases now stood at 67. This is the single largest infection centre in the force, Garfa police station being a distant second with a little over a dozen cases.
Of the 40 infected people, 29 are from the Combat Battalion, entrusted with guarding vital installations, 10 are from the specialized Disaster Management Group that played a crucial role in clearing up the city after Cyclone Amphan and the remaining one is from RAF. Some officers said the reason for the spike could be that the cops had been going out on duty, returning and mixing with others in the mess. But this was contested by others who claimed adequate facilities were not provided at PTS to maintain social distancing. A week ago, about 500-odd Combat Force personnel had staged demonstrations and even manhandled a deputy commissioner over being forced to share the quarters with 20 colleagues who had been advised home quarantine.
To boost the force’s morale, senior officers from Lalbazar headquarters have been visiting police stations, guards and barracks to ask after the cops on duty and ensure sanitization of the premises . Among them were Neloo Sherpa, joint CP (administration) and DC (ESD) Ajoy Prasad who visited the Maniktala police barracks. DC (traffic) Rupesh Kumar visited the Jorabagan traffic guard and interacted with officers who were infected but rejoined work.
Police sources said an SOP had been adopted to contain the spread. “We have asked seniors to monitor each member’s condition. Anyone complaining of any Covid-like symptom should be tested and quarantined at Dumurjola in Howrah. We are arranging for random tests at police stations,” said a joint CP at Lalbazar. Cops have been asked to consult doctors to boost immunity. “Eating healthy is vital. We are distributing hydroxychloroquine tablets,” said an IPS officer.