At least 218 police personnel have been infected with the coronavirus as the disease continues to spread across the country.
Among those who tested positive, 117 belong to Dhaka Metropolitan Police, a senior officer said, asking not to be named.
Of the infected patients, 26 personnel are from Gazipur police, 16 from Narayanganj police, 18 from Gopalganj police. Cases remained in single digits in other districts.
Police have been working amid the coronavirus crisis risking their lives and getting infected, only to serve the people while they set an example to follow, the police headquarters said in a statement.
The protective gear is in high demand around the world, and Bangladesh is not an exception to it, said the statement. The majority of 200,000 police personnel are working at the field level to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, in addition to continuing their regular responsibilities of enforcing the law and order.
They are providing protection to people and organisations related to food, medicine and other emergency services, controlling the price gouging, hoarding of goods and also taking stringent measures to prevent irregularities in the distribution of TCB goods, according to the statement.
Police are also risking their lives while burying those who died from the coronavirus.
As of Apr 23, 218 police including constables and higher officials have been infected. Another 652 have been quarantined, the statement said. Proper arrangement has been made to ensure the treatment of these infected police, following the directive from the prime minister.
Police hospitals were prepared to serve them and Inspector General Benazir Ahmed is providing necessary directives, according to the statement, reports bdnews24.com.
