Active Covid cases in Mumbai Police more than double in fortnight

The second wave of Covid cases has affected the Mumbai Police, with active cases in the force rising from 155 on March 22 to 408 till Monday night.

A policeman posted with the local arms division of Mumbai Police succumbed to the virus at a hospital on April 1, taking the total Covid-19-related deaths in Mumbai Police to 100.

Chaitanya S., Deputy Commissioner of Police (operations) and spokesperson for Mumbai Police, confirmed the development.

As per information provided by Mumbai Police, on March 22, there were 155 active cases of Covid 19 and 99 deaths in the police force. Since the lockdown started 7,449 police personnel tested positive and most of them have recovered.

However, as the city saw a sudden spike in cases, the number of cases rose within the police force too, as they are among the frontline workers.

A worrying trend seen in the force is the doubling rate of cases. While on Sunday 30 fresh cases were found in the force, the figure doubled on Monday with 63 police personnel testing positive. Till Monday night, the total active cases stood at 408.

Apart from providing a dedicated helpline for Covid-19-related queries especially for police personnel in the force, senior officers are trying to get the entire force vaccinated as soon as possible.

“Till Monday night, a total of 2,544 police officers and 27,233 policemen have been given the first dose of the vaccine. In these 1,126 officers and 14,511 have been given the second dose of the vaccine,” said Chaitanya.

Mumbai Police comprises 40,000 police officers and policemen.

With the new restrictions imposed by the state government to control the Covid spike, police officials have had to hit the ground in large numbers to ensure compliance by citizens.