Most Covid-19 victims in Bangladesh have been buried in Khilgaon graveyard, as designated by both city corporations in Dhaka.
Khilgaon police station has been made responsible for the namaz-e-janaza and burials in case someone dies from the infection.
The police station, covering not only Khilgaon, but also parts of Rampura and Banasree in Dhaka, employs about 200 personnel in total.
But when it comes to personal protective equipment to safeguard the policemen on duty for funerals, there are a mere 40 PPE for them.
Khilgaon police officials said the station provides them with a single piece of PPE when they go for burials or for locking down an area. The same goes for policemen on duty at checkposts or ensuring social distance.
The PPE is given based on the condition that it will be returned to the police station once duties are over and is kept at the station following a wash, since other officials will also use it when required.
The scarcity of PPEs is not a picture of Khilgaon alone, but is a common picture of all police stations where the staff are coordinating among themselves for re-use of PPEs because of inadequacies in supply.
The reason is crystal clear- police headquarters' failure in allocating adequate numbers of PPEs for the police forces on duty.
Sources at different ranges and units of police told Dhaka Tribune that the units had been asked to use raincoats for the time being to cope with the PPE crisis.
A policeman usually gets a raincoat once in two years.
‘PPEs to be discarded after single-use’
However, healthcare experts said the PPEs must be disposed of once they are used, but raincoats cannot be disposed of and are not safe for use against Covid-19.
According to the World Health Organization, PPEs are for single-use – except goggles and face shields – and they have to be discarded according to standard protocol to ensure safety against Covid-19.
Additional Inspector General of Police (administration and operations) Dr M Moinur Rahman told Dhaka Tribune that all police officials did not need PPEs in discharging duties, but the department was still trying to manage them.
“But it is not possible to manage a huge amount of PPEs locally within a short time,” he said.
A high official of Rangpur Range Police said the department had to ask its field officials to use raincoats for self protection because of the PPE crisis.
“We have received some PPEs from headquarters, and managed some through personal initiatives. But the high-ups should think of proper treatment of the police officials too, in addition to health safety,” he opined.
Dr Emdadul Haque, police superintendent (SP) at Rajarbagh Central Police Hospital, told Dhaka Tribune that field level officials on duty for ensuring social distancing were at higher risk of being infected.
“It is very important to ensure a full set of personal protective equipment, based on the guidelines of the World Health Organization, for every field official,” he said.
‘Maintain own safety first’
Deputy Inspector General (media and planning) at police headquarters SM Ruhul Amin said all police officials had been asked to maintain their own safety before discharging duties.
“Those getting infected are being treated at divisional hospitals other than the central hospital in Dhaka. If required, the number of hospitals will go up,” he said.
The police officials are supplied with vitamin C, D, and zinc tablets to help improve their immunity, he added.
Regarding the crisis of PPE and other safety gear, he said it took time to procure or manage them.
“Many are managing safety gear on their personal initiative. But centrally, we are trying to provide safety gear first to those who are working on the frontlines,” he added.
Meanwhile, seven private banks on Tuesday donated 100,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) and the same number of masks to Bangladesh Police.
