PHOTO BY DANNY WICENTOWSKI
A St. Louis County police officer is in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19.
A St. Louis County police officer has tested positive for COVID-19, the department announced today.
The officer is now isolated, and the department has "fully implemented" safeguards to protect fellow officers and the public, the department said in a news release.
"Potentially affected work areas and vehicle(s) have been thoroughly cleaned," police said in the statement. "Members of the department who may have come in contact are following a course of action recommended by the St. Louis County Department of Health and the CDC."
There are no other cases associated with the officer, and police say it doesn't appear the officer's exposure came on duty.
The county now has 291 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including another 70 since Friday. The news about the county police officer follows revelations that at least one city police officer has tested positive for the virus and his division, traffic safety, has been quarantined.
Unlike the county and other municipalities across the country, the city has interpreted federal privacy laws in an extremely broad way and has refused to confirm that any its officers have tested positive. The information was unearthed and made public by reporters.
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