No frontline duty for cops above 55 in Punjab

Punjab director general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta directed all commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police to follow a rotational system of providing a weekly off/rest to the frontline personnel so that two days of rest can be provided to all the personnel after every 10 days.

Punjab director general of police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta on Sunday directed that cops above 55 or those with pre-existing medical risk be not deployed on frontline duty in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak.

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He also ordered strict compliance of his order to ensure weekly off/rest days of all police personnel on frontline duties.

He directed all commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police to follow a rotational system of providing a weekly off/rest to the frontline personnel so that two days of rest can be provided to all the personnel after every 10 days.

He directed that police personnel above 55 or those with pre-existing and enhanced medical risk factors such as hypertension, cardiac problem, asthma or suppressed immune system should not be deployed on the frontline, as far as possible.

To ensure protection of police personnel, the DGP requested the chief secretary to direct the state health department to provide a minimum of 4,050 personal protective equipment (PPE) kits/suits and 18,000 N-95 masks on urgent basis.

The DGP said the police officers deployed at hotspots, containment zones, clusters, isolation wards and Covid hospitals need PPE suits, which are certified by the Union ministry of health and family welfare. The police personnel who have to come in close contact with either confirmed or suspect cases of coronavirus also need PPE kits, he added.