Constable, 26 others test positive for Covid-19 after random screening

A Delhi Police constable and 26 public persons, among the 45 people from west Delhi’s Tilak Vihar who volunteered for random community testing at a DDU dispensary

A Delhi Police constable and 26 public persons, among the 45 people from west Delhi’s Tilak Vihar who volunteered for random community testing at a DDU dispensary on Friday, have tested positive for the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Delhi government officials said Sunday.

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By Sunday evening, the Delhi government added Tilak Vihar in Tilak Nagar to the list of containment zones, a total of 80 locations in the city-state.

The constable, who was asymptomatic, was posted at the Tilak Vihar police post. A multi-tasking staff (MTS) of the police post was also among the 45 people tested but his report confirmed he was not infected. “At least 15 staffers of the post have been asked to quarantine themselves at home,” deputy commissioner of police (west) Deepak Purohit said.

An official, who is part of the team of district magistrate (west), said that 27 people tested positive for Covid-19 out of the 45 people tested. “Results came after we did random community testing,” said the official, who did not want to be named.

According to DCP Purohit, the random screening was done following announcements made in the areas around the police post. “The constable showed no symptoms of the disease and he voluntarily went for the screening. On Saturday, his test report confirmed he was infected with the disease,” he added.

The constable’s family members living in Kirari, too, has been advised to remain in isolation, DCP Purohit said, adding that contact tracing is being done to ascertain how the constable got infected.

With the constable’s case, the total number of police personnel infected with the disease, as on April 19, rose to 10. Of these, one assistant sub-inspector with the traffic police was released from a hospital on Friday after his test reports showed no signs of the infection.

This is the third case of a policeman testing positive for Covid-19 between Thursday and Saturday. Active cases of Covid-19 among police personnel include three constables from the Chandni Mahal police station, which has been sealed and all its staffers, including the station house officer (SHO) are under quarantine.

Two deputy commissioners of police (DCPs) of the south-west district and as many as 300 police personnel, who had come in contact with the infected personnel during duty are also in home quarantine.