For the past seven days members of police have been working in groups to avoid the risk of coronavirus infection.
When required, police members are staying in nearby hotels so as not to overcrowd the already congested police station barracks and other barracks.
Some police officials provided these information and said they have already started to follow the initiatives, so that they do not to get infected.
In the current coronavirus situation, police have to look for those who have escaped quarantine and get them back in, lockdown areas, ensure that everyone maintaine social distance, provide protection during relief distribution and even assist during burials.
Till now, around 60 policemen have been reported to be infected by the coronavirus. More than 25 of them are working in different departments of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Moreover, around 600 policemen, who are at risk of infection, have been sent home and to institutional quarantine.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Lalbag division Deputy Commissioner Muntasirul Islam said: “Our force is our strength, and most of them live in the police station barracks or in other barracks."
“So if one of them gets infected, we have to lockdown the entire police station or barrack and send them all to live at home or in institutional quarantine.”
“We are working by forming clusters and trying to make different arrangements for our members to stay,” he added.
Groups formed
Depending on the size of the area, at least two groups are formed in every police station or barrack who are on duty in rotation of five to seven consecutive days.
If one from a group gets infected, they will be sent to quarantine for 14-days and the other group will continue working, said the deputy commissioner.
Bangladesh Police has more than 200,000 members. The officers are allowed to live in their own house. However, the other members have to stay in the police lines of different districts or in police station barrack, where eight to twelve members share a single room, risking the spread of coronavirus infection.
DMP Ramna division Deputy Commissioner Sajjadur Rahman said: “We are working in groups and arranging vacant hotel rooms and community centres for our members to stay."
“Senior officials are instructed to ensure their team's safety and many others are coming forward to help them. If the hotel owners ask for payment, we will provide it.”
DMP Paltan police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Abu Bakar Siddique and Uttara West police station OC Tapan Chandra Saha told Dhaka Tribune that they have already taken the steps.
Meanwhile, the police high-up officials suspect many members have already been infected by the coronavirus while they were working outside. They have urged all policemen to stay protected in field and fight off the country’s coronavirus spread.
As of Saturday, Bangladesh has reported 84 deaths and 2,144 cases of Covid-19.
The fast-spreading virus has claimed over 160,790 lives globally and infected more than 2,332,560 people, according to Worldometers.
As many as 600,115 people have also recovered from Covid-19, a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus, which has spread to 210 countries and territories across the globe.
