POLICE management have paid tribute to police officers who remain committed and dedicated to frontline service despite having to bury colleagues almost on a daily basis.
More than 300 police officers have succumbed to Covid-19, while many more remain in hospital or in isolation.
According to National SAPS spokesperson, Brigadier Vish Naidoo, as of December 31, 2020, 340 police officers died of Covid and he said the number is growing.
"We’ve had members that have lost their lives over these past three days including this morning as well but we haven’t got the full and final stats as yet. Of course, it does put a strain on the emotional state of our members because thus far we’ve had more than 21 000 members who were infected," Naidoo said.
He said fortunately, over 19 000 of them have recovered, 340 still remain in hospital while 340 have lost their lives to the virus.
"Others are still recovering at home in self-isolation. But when it comes to policing, I think hats need to be taken off for our members who still remain committed and dedicated to the frontline service that is expected of them," Naidoo said.
SA has a cumulative total of 1 100 748 Covid-19 cases identified with 11 859 new cases since the last report, representing a 32% positivity rate.
IOL