ATLANTA — During the coronavirus outbreak, first responders are still on the front lines every day, responding to calls and managing the logistics of society’s emergencies. Many have released guidelines of how they’re doing things a little differently to lessen the chances of exposure.
The Atlanta Police Department is one of those agencies. They said they have a contingency plan in place that assumes some personnel will either become sick or be required to quarantine.
With a force of 1850 officers, about six are out with coronavirus symptoms. None of them have tested positive for the virus, according to the department. A representative from the department said they’re at 99%+ strength as a department.
"Commanders in COD are in close contact with the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Preparedness, The Mayor’s Pandemic Coordination team, as well as public health officials," Chief Erica Shields said in a statement to 11Alive.
The department said it is taking several steps to help mitigate the spread of the virus among the public and staff by doing the following:
- Encouraging officers to practice good hygiene;
- Suspending outside travel and training for the entire department as a precautionary measure;
- Asking EMS personnel to carefully assess and evaluate medical calls to determine if police officers are needed to assist. If it is a situation that does not require a police officer, they will not respond;
- Rescheduling and postponing participation in certain public gatherings that are non-essential;
- Ensuring that workspaces and patrol vehicles are properly sanitized;
- Requiring “non-essential” civilian personnel to telework at least through the end of March;
At 11Alive, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.11Alive.com/Coronavirus.
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