KOCHI: An alarming situation has come up in the state, with a few police personnel being put in quarantine for suspected corona infection due to the reckless and irresponsible behaviour of a home quarantined Gulf returnee. Defying the lockdown in Kozhikode, the man had ventured outside his home in an inebriated condition.
Top officials said the department is seriously looking into the issue since a possible spread of the virus among police personnel will take the emergency scenario in the state to another level. Nearly 35,000 police personnel have been deployed across the state for strict enforcement of the lockdown and a fear of potential coronavirus (Covid-19) infection is growing among the family members of policemen because of the irrational behaviour of the people crowding the roads. This has resulted in both the families and police associations calling upon the public to stay put in their homes.
“People are yet to realise the seriousness of the issue. They just don’t understand that it endangers others,” said Rishi Kumar, a Plus Two student, whose police officer father has to put in long hours on the streets as part of lockdown enforcement.
Though police personnel make doubly sure that they sanitise themselves before returning home from duty, there is still a lurking fear of picking up the virus. “All police personnel are duty bound to take up the tasks assigned to them. But the irresponsible attitude of the people, who remain unmindful of the gravity of the situation, is a major concern. We request the public to kindly consider our predicament and cooperate with us since we are on the streets for their safety,” said C R Biju, general secretary, Kerala Police Officers’ Association (KPOA) .
G R Ajith, former general secretary of the Kerala Police Association (KPA), said there will be fear among police and their family members but the force will do its job with dignity and respect.“People should understand that the level of risk will be very low if they stay indoors. The problem here is that they simply won’t listen,” he said.
Biju said there have been several incidents in the state wherein police personnel had to get dangerously close to persons who refused to abide by the compulsory home quarantine ordered by the health department.
In Kozhikode, the said Gulf returnee was taken into custody from a bar following a brawl. When police picked him up from the bar, he didn’t reveal his details, especially the health department directive. He also picked up a fight with the police personnel. Only when police collected more details about him, they learnt that he was listed under possible ‘corona risk’ category and was in compulsory home quarantine.
This prompted the department to put the police personnel, who had closely interacted with him, under watch for possible symptoms. Currently, the accused is in the isolation ward of Kozhikode Medical College as per a court order.