Purulia town’s police station was temporarily shut on Wednesday after three senior officers, including the inspector-in-charge, tested positive for Covid-19 late on Tuesday. Daily operations have been shifted to a nearby police outpost.

“It is a temporary measure for around a week as part of safeguard for common people. We have already started sanitising the police station,” said S. Selvamurugan, Purulia SP.

Police sources said that amid a spike in numbers of Covid cases, Purulia — one of the remotest districts in the western part of Bengal — has not been spared. On Wednesday, Purulia reported 104 new Covid cases.

Purulia town inspector-in-charge Debasish Bandopadhyay, along with two senior sub-inspectors, tested positive on Tuesday.

“The threat of infections becomes predominant among health workers and doctors but police are not excluded. We are very concerned about the infection among cops as we are constantly out and about to keep law and order,” said a police officer in Purulia.

Sources said 30-40 police personnel, including senior officers, have reported positive in districts including Howrah, West Burdwan and Hooghly.

In Howrah police commissionerate, around 40 cops, including an assistant commissioner of police, and a dozen inspectors and sub-inspectors were infected. “We have opened isolation centres for our colleagues,” said C. Sudhakar, Howrah police commissioner.

Though the number of infections among cops is fewer than 10 in East Burdwan, police opened three safe homes there, said Kamanasish Sen, East Burdwan SP. The district reported 233 cases.

In Bankura, district police chief Dhritiman Sarkar directed all cops in the police stations to measure their oxygen saturation every day and report fever.

In Birbhum, a few police personnel have been infected, including two senior officers. Birbhum SP Nagendra Nath Tripathi said all police personnel including civic volunteers had been asked to strictly adhere to Covid protocol. Birbhum reported 392 cases on Wednesday.