In the last 24 hours, 212 more members of Bangladesh Police have tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total cases in the law enforcement agency to 10,160.
Adding to the increasing death toll in the force, another policeman died of Covid-19 on Saturday. With this, the fatalities due to the disease in the police force currently stand at 41.
The deceased is Md Atiyar Rahman, a constable of the Manikganj district police control room. Atiyar joined the police force on November 26, 1984, said a press release issued by Police Headquarters on Sunday.
He tested positive for Covid-19 and was undergoing treatment at Rajarbagh Central Police Hospital in the capital. He died on Saturday around 10pm.
Atiyar's body was taken to his village home in Faridpur’s Madhukhali upazila.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
According to Police Headquarters, 10,160 members of the police tested Covid-19 positive till Sunday, of whom 2,248 belong to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Of them, 6,045 have recovered from the disease, and most of them have returned to work. Currently, there are 10,300 policemen in home quarantine, and 4,224 are institutionally quarantined.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed directed all concerned to ensure the best treatment for police personnel who have contracted the coronavirus. A special team was formed following the IGP’s directive to look after the sick policemen.
In addition to the Central Police Hospital and the divisional police hospitals, modern facilities have been set up in the capital and in the divisional cities to treat police personnel testing positive for Covid-19, said Police Headquarters.
Police Headquarters AIG (media) Md Sohel Rana said Bangladesh Police are the leaders in the field in the war against coronavirus, and have to deal with many obstacles due to that.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh Police is moving forward with a strong morale instead of giving up, he added.
Bangladesh Police has always been working for the people, the AIG said.
Prof Nasima Sultana, an additional director general (administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), during a press briefing on Sunday said another 43 Covid-19 patients had died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll owing to the the deadly disease to 1,738 in the country.
Also, 3,809 more people tested positive for Covid-19, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 137,787.