Lacey Police Department employee tests positive for COVID-19
A Lacey Police Department employee has tested positive for COVID-19, the interim chief confirmed Monday.
Chief Robert Almada said Monday they learned of the positive test on Friday. The department has since taken immediate action to sanitize all equipment and vehicles, above and beyond what the department had already been doing, he said.
No other employees of the roughly 65-person department have tested positive, he said.
“We continue to deliver police services without interruption,” Almada said.
Almada declined to describe what kind of work the employee does for the department. It has been over a week since that person last worked, and that person is now recovering at home, he said.
The chief said the department also has enhanced social distancing, and is seeking testing of its employees on a voluntary basis. Those who telework will continue to do so, he said. He also said the department has the necessary personal protective equipment for the pandemic.
Asked whether the infected employee interacted with the public, Almada said contact tracing will be handled by the state Department of Health.
He also has reached out to other law enforcement departments in the area to “assure there is no interruption in police services.”
To date, 127 people have tested positive for the virus in Thurston County, most of whom have recovered; just one person’s death has been attributed to COVID-19. Across the state, there have been more than 18,433 confirmed cases and 1,001 deaths attributed to COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the state Department of Health.
Almada was named interim chief of the Lacey Police Department after former chief Ken Semko retired at the end of April because of health concerns.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 10:31 AM.
