PITTSBURGH (Newsradio 1020 KDKA) - A Pittsburgh Police Officer has tested positive for coronavirus.
The City of Pittsburgh's Department of Public Safety says the officer had flu-like symptoms last Wednesday, April 1 and was sent home.
The officer was tested the next day and the positive test result came back on April 4.
The officer is at home in isolation.
Officials say the officer is a Police Academy instructor and was in contact with recruits recently.
Officers are working to identify and notify anyone who has recently had contact with the officer who tested positive and are placing them in self-isolation.
Police Chief Scott Schubert issued a statement on Monday afternoon"
"The safety and well-being of our officers is always a top priority for me and my Command Staff, but officer health is especially important now as the men and women of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police are on the front lines of this battle day in and day out. Simply put, for us to help the public, we need officers to be healthy.
"For that reason, and out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily suspended a 28-person recruit class as we identify who among them might have been exposed to a firearms instructor that has tested positive for COVID-19. Any exposure would have occurred at the outdoor Police firing range in Zone 5 and not in the Academy.
"We've made several adjustments as we face this virus, including the suspension of all in-service training more than three weeks ago. We suspended the training of a new recruit class, but continued the training of this class because they were close to satisfying their training requirements. The class was isolated from other officers and was instructed to maintain social distancing. It is not known where the officer who tested positive contracted the virus. We have instructed numerous recruits who might have come into contact with him at the range to self-quarantine, and we will be monitoring their health daily. Anyone who shows symptoms will be tested. At this time, one recruit has shown symptoms and has been tested, but the results are not in yet.
"These are stressful times. And First Responders simply cannot work from home. I stand in awe of my officers for the way they have dedicated themselves to our communities during this most difficult time."
All equipment the officer has used has been "thoroughly cleaned" and police are checking in with the officer daily.
Public Safety is not releasing the officer's name for privacy reasons.
Last week, a Pittsburgh firefighter tested positive for COVID-19.
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