The PMC has faced staff shortage in its efforts to trace close contacts of thousands of Covid-19 patients in the city. (File)
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to rope in special police officers (SPOs), appointed by the city police for assistance during earlier lockdowns, as volunteers for tracing close contacts of Covid-19 patients.
The PMC has faced staff shortage in its efforts to trace close contacts of thousands of Covid-19 patients in the city.
Coming to the aid of PMC staff, police have furnished a list of 1,488 SPOs who have been enrolled for the special work required for containing the pandemic. “The SPOs can be used for contact tracing… a total of 743 teams with two in each team can be set up for the purpose,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Rubal Agarwal.
The city police had earlier selected local residents from across the city to act as SPOs to assist them in implementing various rules during the lockdown period. They were supposed to create awareness about Covid-19 and ensure steps to be taken to contain the spread of viral infection.
Agarwal urged zonal commissioners to contact SPOs and urge them to work as volunteers for contact tracing.
Those who have already volunteered their services with the PMC have been deployed at Covid care centres, swab collection centres, hospitals and civic offices.