Nearly 2,400 Uttarakhand cops catch COVID despite getting both shots

Despite receiving both doses of COVID vaccine, nearly 2,400 Uttarakhand police personnel tested positive for the virus during the second wave, state authorities have said.

Data shared on Tuesday showed 2,382 policemen were infected while they were on duty between April and May; 2,204 have recovered while five died. Two of those five had comorbidities. The other three were not vaccinated.

DIG (law and order) and Uttarakhand police chief spokesperson Nilesh Anand Bharne said that severity and casualties remained low. Bharne said that even vaccine manufacturers have admitted that vaccine does not guarantee that one would not test positive after receiving doses.

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Some of the policemen who died were deployed on duty at the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. But Bharne said there was no link between their deaths and the religious gathering. Within families of police personnel who tested positive, there were 751 infections, including 64 that led to fatalities.

The data said 4,364 police personnel have so far tested positive since the pandemic broke out last year and 13 of them have died.

The state police also listed enforcement activities being conducted and assistance given to the needy during lockdown through the ‘Mission Hausla’ programme. The police lodged 32 FIRs and booked 46 people for selling fake medicine, overcharging and hoarding of medicines. The state police also acted against 1.26 lakh people for not wearing masks and against 2.61 lakh for violating social distancing norns.

The police have recovered fines worth Rs 6.13 crore till May 31, it said.

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On May 18, the Uttarakhand police had decided not to deploy personnel above the age of 55 years and pregnant staff on frontline duty. Women personnel having infants below one year of age were also kept free from the COVID duty.

May has proved worst since Covid struck Uttarakhand around mid-March last year. This May saw 59% of total deaths, 57% of total recoveries and 45% of the total cases reported. Of the total tests, 21% took place last month.

Anoop Nautiyal whose Social Development for Communities has been collating Covid data since last year said: “May has been the worst. Though cases have started to come down, we must remain vigilant.” The month saw 1,48,973 Covid cases, 10,12,253 tests, 1,64,363 recoveries and 3,828 deaths.

Meanwhile, May 24-30 data has revealed that the positivity rate of is still high in districts. Four districts – Pauri, Almora, Pithoragarh, Chamoli – have positivity rate above 10 per cent while three districts – Nainital, Tehri and Rudraprayag – recorded the rate above 8 per cent. Plain districts Dehradun, Udham Singh Nagar and Haridwar recorded the rate between 3 and 5 per cent.