Karnataka cops donate blood plasma to treat Covid patients

Bengaluru: As frontline warriors in the battle against the deadly pandemic, many Karnataka police personnel donated blood plasma to treat Covid-19 patients in the state, a top official said on Wednesday.

"Over 40 police personnel who have recovered from the infection have registered to offer their blood plasma after 15 of their colleagues donated their plasma," said state Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Sood in a statement here.

Of the 15 who donated so far, 9 are from the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) and 6 from the Karnataka State Industrial Security Force (KSISF).

"They (police personnel) are not only Corona warriors but also saviours, as they donated plasma after recovering from the disease," said Sood.

In addition, many from the regular police force have also donated their antibody-rich plasma.

Nearly 2,000 police personnel have tested positive across the southern state even as they remained on duty continuously amid the pandemic.

While about 40 of the state police personnel succumbed to the infection so far, about 1,500 recovered as they were asymptomatic and about 400 are under treatment at designated hospitals across the state.

Mysuru Police Commissioner Chandra Gupta was the latest to test Covid positive on Tuesday after KSRP assistant commissioner of police Bharat Raj tested positive for the virus.