More than 22,000 elderly police personnel who are working in different parts of the country face risks of being exposed to Covid-19 infections.
In view of this, the Inspector General of Bangladesh Police, Dr Benazir Ahmed has already taken adequate precautionary measures and directed to protect these elderly members of the police force from being exposed to possible contamination.
As part of the initiative, such elderly policemen have been instructed to carry out their duties strictly obeying all health safety regulations as set by the government.
Earlier, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) also advised the elderly citizens to take extra precaution while in public places.
Health experts explained that in such a situation pandemic, the elderly policemen are at greater risks of being infected than the younger people.
According to sources in the Police Headquarters, out of 200,000 police personnel, 22,413 are in the age group of 50 and 59 years. They are also on duty – often discharging their duties from 12 to 16 hours in two shifts everyday.
Police Headquarters sources said that from now the elderly policemen are given less hours of duty considering their safety. They are under special cares from the police headquarters considering their age.
Assistant Inspector General (Media and Public Relations) Mir Sohel Rana said, “Bangladesh police is the most affected by COVID-19 in the country. At the same time, the recovery rate of police members is also much higher than others.”
He further said, “So far, about 46 percent of the police personnel have recovered. After their recoveries, they have already joined duties to serve the nation during this crisis moment.”
It is true that those who have to be in public places for duties the risks of being infected are also higher for them. Since the beginning of the ongoing fight against COVID-19, more than two lakh policemen have been working to ensure safety and security of the countrymen . For this reason, the number of infections in the police is also increasing day by day.
“It is the policemen who have taken maximum risks to ensure safety and security of the common people. By doing so, police are at higher risk of being infected,” Rana pointed out.
He said, “Till Monday 27 policemen have died in corona virus which shows the courage of the police force when it comes to confronting any crisis.”
“At the same time around four thousand members of police have re-joined in their duties after their recoveries from COVID-19,” he added.
On Monday, 53 police personnel have been released from Rajarbagh Central Police Hospital in the capital.