Mangaluru City Police Are Pretty Well ‘Masked Up’ To Dangers Of COVID-19
A little over 19.7% or 335 out of the 1700-strong police personnel serving in Mangaluru City Police had a brush with perils that coronavirus posed in 2020 ever since the first pandemic case was reported in Karnataka on March 8, 2020. A year later, when the second wave came in torrents, this number is fraction at 3.35% or 57 Covid19 positive cases. Out of these, 13 have since recovered and active cases among (wo)men in Khaki is 44.
This is mainly due to strict adherence to Covid19 protocols and the premium that has been placed on personal safety across ranks at all levels of functioning of the city police, N Shashi Kumar, city police commissioner, says. Police work 24×7 in shifts and Covid Appropriate Behaviour is a constant for them. Masking up, sanitizing and washing their hands at frequent intervals is now as much a part of their daily routine as is daily policing, he points.
Kiosks have been set up at all police stations where visitors are screened for temperature, ensure they have worn masks and properly too and sanitize their hands in adherence to the protocol. Staff take immunity boosters in the form of kashaya. Some police stations have also started nifty steam inhalation units using the ubiquitous pressure cookers. The department on its part too constantly replenishes sanitisers in police stations, he adds.
Gestures by organizations such as SCDCC Bank, Cause Foundation in replenishing the stocks of protective masks and sanitisers available with the city police boost the confidence level of the force, Shashi Kumar says. While the reusable masks can be used for a certain period with due care, having fresh disposable mask at their disposal after a regular day’s work too helps. So these philanthropic donations only help the frontline warriors, he avers.
Despite these measures in place, police personnel do contract the virus that has a knack of breaching the best of defences. Even in this case, the city police is on the anvil of setting up a dedicated Covid Care Centre (CCC) for its personnel and a suitable place for the CCC has been identified. The fact that a majority of police personnel regarded as frontline warriors have received both their shots of vaccine too has helped keep the numbers down, he says.
FACT SHEET:
· Percentage of personnel to receive the first dose: 95%
· Percentage of personnel to receive the second dose: 80%
· Reasons for difference: Personnel in between first and second dose and rest found medically unfit for vaccine
This post has been published in arrangement with Jaideep J Shenoy
