Karachi: After losing 24 of its personnel to COVID-19 since last year, the Sindh Police has requested the provincial government’s authorities to declare its personnel frontline workers so they are vaccinated early.
Mohammad Tariq Nawaz, the Additional Inspector General of Sindh Police (AIGP) (Welfare), wrote a letter to the Additional Chief Secretary of the Sindh government’s Home Department in this regard.
The letter said that till April 5, 2021, a total of 6,366 personnel of Sindh Police had been infected with the COVID-19. Among them, 6,297 personnel had recovered, while 24 had died.
“Being frontline fighters, police personnel of Sindh Police are exposed to the risk of being infected with this deadly virus while controlling the traffic on roads, moving UTPs (under-trial prisoners), dealing with protestors, and mob situations, performing security duty with the VIPs and VVIPs, guarding quarantine centres, performing burial duties, ensuring sealing of affected areas, and implementing SOPs, issued by the government,” the senior police official wrote.
He added that keeping in view the third wave of COVID-19, the number of infected personnel was expected to rise. “In view of the above, I am directed to request you to please declare personnel of Sindh Police as frontline workers in order to enable them for urgent vaccination against COVID-19,” the letter added.
From April 21, Pakistan will start vaccinating people in the age group 50 to 59.
