More than 50 police personnel have so far tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Karachi, officials said on Monday.

According to documents reviewed by Dawn, six inspectors are among the 51 personnel of the Sindh Police whose tests have returned positive.

Of these, one inspector has recovered from the disease and has been discharged from the hospital, while the rest are admitted to isolation wards of different hospitals in the metropolis, said a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On Monday, two police personnel, including a sub-inspector and a head constable, were confirmed to have been infected with the coronavirus while performing their duty at a cash distribution facility of Ehsaas Programme at the Government Degree College, Quaidabad in Karachi.

"So far, no police official has been infected with the virus in other major cities of Sindh," the officer added.

According to Karachi City police chief Additional Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, the majority of infected police officials in the city were not those deployed in active field duty. He pointed out that one of the infected inspectors was from the investigation branch while the other one was working as a staff officer.

"A few constables who got infected were working in Sindh Police's Madadgar 15 service. And some police officers were gunmen and drivers of senior police officials in the city," he added.

Meanwhile, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), South Karachi, Sharjeel Kharal along with SSP South Investigation Ameer Saud Magsi on Monday visited the residence of the inspector who has recovered from Covid-19, according to a police spokesperson.

"The DIG presented bouquet and sweets to the inspector over his recovery and vowed to continue to provide all possible assistance to the officer until his full recovery," he added.

Separately, AIG Memon held a meeting at his office on Monday, where he apprised officials on the screening and testing of police personnel.

According to police sources, Memon told officials in the meeting that 540 police officials in the city were tested for coronavirus at the Scouts Auditorium. He added that tests of district police and officials of Karachi Police Office (KPO) will be conducted in the next phase.

Interviews with police officials conducted by Dawn.com earlier this month had revealed that thousands of police personnel who were deployed to enforce the lockdown announced by the provincial government to control the spread of Covid-19 found themselves on the frontlines of the crisis without proper personal protective equipment (PPE) or training.