Increasing infections among personnel threaten to cripple police anti-Covid operations

Biggest culprit Peliyagoda cluster

By Hemantha Randunu

Police headquarters sources yesterday warned of a possible breaking down of its anti-COVID-19 campaign in the face of the threat of increasing number of infected policemen.

About 43 police personnel attached to various stations in the Western Province have been infected. Most of them were deployed in public places.

The police have ordered 771 personnel to undergo self-quarantine as they had symptoms and in addition 120 personnel have been sent to the quarantine centres countrywide.

Sources said that most infections in the police have been traced to the Peliyagoda Fish Market cluster.

Fifteen policemen attached to the Colombo Crime Division have tested positive for COVID-19.

At least 22 police officers including Special Task Force personnel had tested positive for Covid-19, Headquarters sources said, adding that separate quarantine centres and a hospital in Punani and Kundasale had been reserved had been police officers who had contracted the virus.