A police constable has died after contracting coronavirus, recording the first death of a police official in Bangladesh.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner (Wari Division) Shah Iftekhar Ahmed confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as 40-year-old Constable Mohammad Jasim.
“He was kept in quarantine at Hotel Al Salam, which is being managed by the Rajarbagh Central Coronavirus Management authority,” he said.
“After he fell sick, he was taken to Rajarbagh Central Police Hospital, and he was referred to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital.
“The on-duty doctor declared him dead last night (Tuesday) at about 10:30pm,” he added.
Jasim caught fever on April 24, and his sample was sent to IEDCR for testing the next day. Earlier, he was working at a police outpost under Wari Police station.
“Earlier, we contacted IEDCR, but they were saying that the result was not ready,” he said.
“We started contacting them repeatedly from last night as the dead body needs to be buried and there are measures to be taken if he had contracted coronavirus. Today (Wednesday) morning, we got the result and he tested positive.”
Earlier, another police member was also sent to quarantine but tested negative later.
Over 250 police members have been infected with coronavirus till now, police said.
