Punjab to provide PPE kits to policemen: CM
Representative Image (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)
Kolkata: Personal protective equipment (PPE) suits being prepared for doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers at a manufacturing unit amid COVID-19 pandemic, in Kolkata on Apr 7, 2020. The World Health Day is a global health awareness day celebrated every year on 7 April. (Photo: Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS)
Chandigarh: The Punjab government planned to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) also to the police personnel in the battle against Covid-19, said Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, here on Tuesday.
Addressing the media via video link, Singh said the state had 16,000 PPE kits and top priority would be given to the healthcare workers. The government would procure more kits to be given to the police personnel.
On the Patiala attack, the Chief Minister said he had told the Director General of Police (DGP) to take strict action against the perpetrators of crime. “What do the Nihangs think? They can’t get away with this,” he said.
Stating that his first reaction to the incident was of “extreme anger”, the Chief minister said ASI Harjeet Singh (whose hand was chopped off by the Nihangs) was an extremely brave man.
On relief work by cops, the Chief Minister said it was being conducted by the police on their own and from their own resources. No police personnel were being asked to do any work over and above their duty of enforcing curfew and maintaining law and order in the state, he added.
Given the threat of pandemic spiralling out of control, he said, there was no option but to continue with the stringent restrictions. He said the police had been instructed to strictly enforce curfew and not allow any any violation, even with regard to wearing of mask.
Conceding that the number of Covid-19 tests being conducted in the state was not sufficient, Singh said for the mass testing at least 10 lakh rapid testing kits were needed, which the government had ordered from the ICMR.
So far, only 1,000 kits had been received, which were being used in Mohali and Jalandhar.
On relaxations, as also announced today by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister said his government had set up a committee to examine was already examining ways of doing so without compromising on the health of people.
The people’s lives and health were the key priority, he said and added, the relaxations would have to be staggered.
IANS
