HUBBALLI: In a first for men in khaki in Karnataka, five police personnel, who came in contact with the first COVID patient from Hubballi before he was tested positive, have been quarantined in the city. The five policemen also attended meetings with other police personnel, creating panic in the Hubballi-Dharwad police force.
Patient 194 is a resident of Mulla Oni near Kamaripet area in the city. He and his brother had travelled to Hyderabad, New Delhi, Agra and Mumbai and returned to the city on March 20. “When the police were collecting information about all the people from the city who had visited Delhi recently, they came to know that two brothers from Mulla Oni had gone to the national capital. Five policemen went in a vehicle to the area and received documents from Patient 194 with bare hands.
A few days later, he was tested positive. An ASI, a head constable and three police constables who went to the patient’s house have been quarantined,” said a senior officer.
Three of the policemen have been quarantined at a government-designated hotel in the city, while two others are home quarantined.
After they came in contact with the coronavirus patient and before he was tested positive, the five policemen had attended meetings with senior police officials. Now, the police officials, especially those at the Kamaripet police station, are worried about their possible infection.
Hubballi-Dharwad Police Commissioner R Dileep has directed his staff to take all precautionary measures before visiting houses of COVID suspects. He has asked them to wear gloves and not to touch any documents. The policemen should take photographs of documents and send them to senior officers. Apart from this, using sanitisers, face masks and washing hands often have been made compulsory for all policemen.