CHITRADURGA/DAVANGERE: Cops who have been risking their lives during the pandemic in Chitradurga and Davangere believe that vaccines have helped protect them from the brutal Covid second wave.
Sixty-three police personnel have tested positive for Covid-19 in Chitradurga, but all of them only had mild infections and a majority of them have already recovered at home without any major discomfort.
Twenty-nine cops are positive now, but they too are on the road to recovery.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, the Chitradurga Superintendent of Police Radhika G said, "We have ensured the first dose of vaccination for all the 1,525 personnel and only 200 of them are yet to receive the second dose. This massive vaccination drive helped our personnel to remain healthy. There are 29 cops who are yet to recover but all were asymptomatic when they were tested. Vaccines saved our lives."
The SP went on to say that police stations are witnessing high footfalls during the pandemic. "We are sanitising our stations with sodium hypochloride regularly and everyone on duty has to inhale steam, measures that have helped further in protecting the health of our officials," she said.
During the first wave, more than 400 police personnel in the district had contracted Covid and some had even succumbed to it.
The police force has also decided to have their own Covid Care Centre with oxygen beds at the Police community hall on the Pune-Bengaluru NH and many companies have been approached for this.
Davangere too has good news to share
The Superintendent of Police, Davangere, Hanumantharaya said that about 41 police personnel spread across six taluks of the district have contracted the infection. Of them, 18 have recovered and are back on duty.
He said that vaccination has helped in fighting the mutant virus. 21 cops remain under isolation but are recovering fast, the SP added.
1549 cops out of 1576 in the district have received the first dose of the vaccine. 1373 of them have also received the second dose of vaccine.
Ninety beds at the Taralabalu Covid Care Centre have also been already reserved for the cops on priority.