401 cops in Tamil Nadu test Covid positive in 10 days

As many as 401 police personnel, including six IPS officers, in the State have tested positive for COVID in the third wave from January 1 till Tuesday. Four deaths have also been logged till Monday. Of the total, 141 cases were from the Greater Chennai Police and 13 have been hospitalised.

To keep things in check in the city police, Commissioner Shankar Jiwal has once again implemented the standard operating procedure (SOP) which was first introduced soon after he assumed charges when the second wave of COVID was at its peak.

As per the SOP, an inspector has been appointed as the nodal officer for each police district and all four zones have been provided with an ambulance equipped with oxygen cylinders.

Those who have the symptoms should immediately inform the respective inspector who in turn would alert the nodal officer. The ambulance would pick them up from their residence and take them to the Rajarathinam stadium where they would be subjected to a swab test and kept under observation till the results are declared.

“Women police personnel who completed nursing degree would monitor the police personnel, who are also being provided with food. If somebody is confirmed positive, they would be taken to the nearest screening centre and would be either sent home for self isolation or to the hospital in the ambulance as per the advice of the doctors,” said the official.

The police said family members of the personnel can also avail the facility and observation centres would be opened if the number of cases goes up.

The commissioner has been taking stock of the situation and had been giving necessary instructions to all his subordinates,” added the official.

According to Greater Chennai Police data, as many as 1,238 police personnel, 46 ministerial staff, about 20,000 family members and 361 home guards of police personnel have not taken even a single dose of vaccine, while 1,794 police personnel, 197 ministerial staffers, about 31,000 family members of cops, and 1,731 home guards are yet to be inoculated with the second dose.