(File photo)
MANILA – Another police officer succumbed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), bringing the police force's death to 38.
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Philippine National Police (PNP) deputy chief for administration, said the fatality is a 46-year-old police officer assigned with the PNP-Drug Enforcement Group (DEG), who died on Wednesday due to acute respiratory distress secondary to Covid-19 infection.
As of Wednesday, Eleazar said the PNP’s total active cases increased to 2,349 after reporting 239 new infections.
The total number of police personnel infected with Covid-19 is now 15,105.
Of the total active infections, 2,285 are isolated in PNP facilities and some local government units while 65 are confined in hospitals.
He said a total of 146 police officers have recovered from the disease, bringing the PNP’s recovery tally to 12,718.
Amid the increase in the number of cases within the PNP, Eleazar said they would intensify contingency measures.
At the PNP national headquarters in Camp Crame, Eleazar said more isolation facilities have been set up, with a total of 147-bed capacity, that went operational last weekend.
On Thursday, another 40-bed facility will open at the PNP's taekwondo gym, he added.
“As front-liners in the fight to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, our personnel are risking their health safety, and even their lives in the performance of their mandate. The least that we could do is to assure them that we would be there for them and extend all the necessary support in case they are infected,” Eleazar said.
He said PNP’s full support system for its personnel has resulted in a high recovery rate for the organization. More than 12,200 of the 14,456 cases in the PNP have already fully recovered.
Meanwhile, Eleazar said that based on the survey results as of Wednesday, 123,960 or 56.43 percent out of a total of 219,669 police personnel are willing to get inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine, while another 55,109 cops or 25.09 percent are willing to be inoculated with a preferred brand of vaccine.
Eleazar attributed the positive response to the information dissemination campaign made by the PNP Health Service and the ground commanders.
As of March 31, some 4,356 police front-liners have been vaccinated or 1.98 percent out of 215,313 cops.
Earlier, PNP chief Gen. Debold Sinas said that aside from its medical front-liners, he wants personnel under the Joint Task Force Covid Shield to be vaccinated against the Covid-19. (PNA)
