As many as 181 policemen, including one Additional Superintendent of Police rank officer, one DSP and four Circle Inspectors, tested positive for COVID-19 in North Andhra region. Fortunately, almost all of them have recovered, and a majority of them returned to their duties in the last few days.
Direct interaction with people, forcible movement in public places such as markets, taking food and water at unhygienic places and other reasons affected the policemen. It was observed the police personnel who were posted at check-posts were more vulnerable as they had to interact with returnees from different parts of the country.
Directive to SHOs
Visakhapatnam Range Deputy Inspector-General of Police L.K.V. Ranga Rao told The Hindu that all the Station House Officers had been directed to take care of the staff by ensuring supply of hot water, food packets, frequent gargling and adequate rest. “We created a helpdesk and tele-medicine facility for the staff. The department is supplying dry fruit packets to improve the immunity among the staff who recovered from the virus.,” he said.
“People should understand the role of the police personnel in controlling the virus. To create awareness among the public about the preventive steps, we are using social media. As many as 80,000 are connected under this programme. Those active members will pass the information to the locals about the importance of wearing masks, social distancing and avoiding their presence at mass gatherings,” said Mr. Rao.
He said the situation was under control all along the Andhra-Odisha border. The Maoists were trying to prove their presence felt with minor firing incidents. “The threat from Maoists is almost negligible. We are trying to check their activities with constant vigilance all along the border area,” he added.
