Chandigarh, Sep 6 (IANS): To motivate frontline police forces battling coronavirus in Punjab, police officials have telephonically contacted more than 500 Covid-19 positive policemen who are undergoing treatment in hospitals or are home quarantined, officials said on Sunday.
All ADGP and IGP rank officers made the calls as part of the mass contact programme in line with similar efforts undertaken in recent weeks personally by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and DGP Dinkar Gupta with the aim of keeping the infected personnel in high spirits, an official told IANS.
The officers involved in the exercise not only enquired about the health and well-being of the personnel but also assured them of every possible support.
Some senior officers with medical background even gave them therapeutic guidance and advice.
Police officials undergoing treatment have expressed satisfaction over the efforts and support given by the government and police department from time-to-time, he said.
As many as 3,803 police personnel have tested Covid positive till now in the state and of them 2,186 (nearly 57 per cent) have fully recovered.
At present, 1,597 of them were positive, including 38 gazetted officers and 21 station head officers.
Nearly 32 family members of police personnel were also Covid positive. Another 50 police personnel who were close contacts of positive cases were under self-quarantine.
As many as 20 officials, including a DSP, have died in the recent past while fighting coronavirus as frontline warriors.
More than 20 police officials who have recovered from the disease have willingly donated blood plasma and more than 100 others have also offered to do so.
As a welfare measure, all Covid-19 positive police personnel were being provided health kits free of cost which include digital thermometer, pulse oximeter, sanitisers, medicines, vitamins, etc. A kit costs Rs 1,700.
The DGP said every police official was his personal responsibility and this contact programme will continue in the future also till every Covid-19 positive policeman in the state is nursed back to health.