Covid-19: With 91 deaths, 8,254 new cases, September worst month for Maharashtra Police so far

In September, 8,254 cases of infection were reported from various police units in Maharashtra. Before that the police department had recorded 6,077 cases of infection among its personnel in August and around 5,000 in July

September proved to be the worst month in terms of the number of Covid-19 cases and related deaths for Maharashtra’s police force as it witnessed the most fatalities (91) that month. In August, 54; in July, 43; in June, 33; in May, 23; and in April, three policemen had succumbed to the contagion. The number of deaths among the Maharashtra Police now stands at 247.

According to the state police, 188 personnel tested positive for the disease on Wednesday. With this, the overall caseload of the state police now stands at 23,548. (ANI)

In September, 8,254 cases of infection were reported from various police units in Maharashtra. Before that the police department had recorded 6,077 cases of infection among its personnel in August and around 5,000 in July, as per the information provided by the state police.

According to the state police, 188 personnel tested positive for the disease on Wednesday. With this, the overall caseload of the state police now stands at 23,548. According to information provided by Manoj Patil, superintendent of police control room, and assistant inspector general of police (law and order), 2,956 are active cases while 20,345 have recovered fully. At present, 10,892 policemen are in quarantine.

So far Mumbai police has been at the top of the list, with the highest number of cases and casualties. In Mumbai, around 6,043 cases were reported till Wednesday, of which 84 have succumbed. A senior IPS officer said that 75% of infected policemen in Mumbai have already recovered and rejoined duty and the city police’s mortality rate is 1.38%.

After the Mumbai police, the Thane city police, Nagpur police and Navi Mumbai police have recorded a high number of Covid-19 cases and fatalities.

“Due to the delay in reporting the infection to doctors, the fatality rate among police personnel is increasing,” said Rajkumar Vhatkar, joint commissioner of police (administration).

Around 65-70% of the deceased police personnel were above the age of 50.

“We are focusing on intensifying awareness drives among the police personnel and pushing ‘Majha Kutumb, Majhi Jawabdari’ (My Family, My Responsibility) initiative for effective awareness and prevention among policemen and their family members,” Vhatkar said.