PONTIAC, Mich. (WWJ) – Officials say Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard has “joined the ranks of those working remotely these days” after testing positive for COVID-19.
The sheriff’s office says Bouchard learned Tuesday that he’d tested positive for the highly contagious omicron variant.
“Since the very beginning of this pandemic, the sheriff and his team have been out in public and in regular contact with a great number of people. It comes with the job,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release.
Bouchard is quarantining and “experiencing many of the symptoms associated with the virus” including headache, congestion, exhaustion, and other assorted aches.
“Even though I choose to be fully vaccinated and received the booster shot, the omicron variant was still able to catch up with me,” Bouchard said. “I had assumed it was not a question of whether it caught up to me given the duties of a first responder, but when. Per our protocols I will be in quarantine, but I will continue to work remotely.”
Bouchard’s positive test is one of many within the department. The sheriff’s office has been hit hard by the latest surge of the virus, with more than 170 of its more than 1,400 employees currently off work because they’ve either tested positive or have had a close exposure to the virus.
Early in the pandemic, Bouchard ordered regular testing for employees, regardless of vaccination status.
On Monday, state health officials announced more than 44,000 new cases of COVID-19 statewide.
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