Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): As many as 19 police personnel tested positive for coronavirus disease in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, taking the tally in the north Indian state above the 2,000 mark.
They have been admitted in isolation wards at designated hospitals in level-1 COVID-19 districts across the state.
All 19 personnel were deployed at COVID-19 hotspot areas in the state capital Lucknow and are believed to have contracted the infection while on duty.
These cases are in addition to the 90 policemen who have tested positive for the virus from the state and stand quarantined till date.
Earlier, swab samples from 80 other personnel serving in ‘Red Zones’ were sent for testing, but the results were negative.
Swab samples from the police force are regularly sent for testing to ascertain if they have contracted the virus while on duty said Dr Rukum Kesh, Director General of Medicine and Health.
“The police personnel deployed in hotspot areas of the state are regularly tested for COVID-19. The ones who test positive are given necessary treatment,” Dr Kesh told ETV Bharat.
Also read: COVID-19: Cases in India mount to 29,974, no fresh case in 17 districts in 28 days
Uttar Pradesh reported 66 new COVID-19 positive cases and three more deaths on Tuesday, therefore crossing the 2,000 mark with a death toll of 34.
The fresh cases were reported from different parts of the state, including 17 from Agra, followed by 12 from Varanasi and eight from Kanpur Nagar, according to the state health department.
Of the overall deaths in Uttar Pradesh, Agra accounts for 12, followed by Moradabad (6) and Meerut (5). Four COVID-19 deaths have taken place in Kanpur, one death has been reported each from Basti, Varanasi, Bulandshahr, Lucknow, Firozabad, Aligarh and Shrawasti.
