More Than 800 LAPD Employees In Quarantine For COVID After Positive Tests Jump A Second Week In A Row
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — COVID-19 infections continue to hammer the LAPD's operations, Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday.
Last week, a total of 562 department personnel tested positive for COVID, up from 424 the week before. The previous week, there were only 82 cases across the entire department of 9,524 sworn employees and 2,689 civilian employees, Moore said.
There are currently 803 LAPD employees in quarantine, compared to just a month ago, when there was only 89 quarantined department employees, according to Moore. The average recovery time for employees to return to work after testing positive is about 24 days, he said.
"The department does have contingency plans to ensure that we continue to maintain essential patrol, investigations involving violent crime, and our 911 services," Moore told the LA Police Commission on Tuesday. "We're using overtime as necessary to ensure that our civilian and sworn personnel have the resources needed to staff these positions."
Moore said there were "additional levers'" the department can invoke to augment staffing and ensure necessary services are provided to the city.
The department's vaccination is about 84% and about 22% of the LAPD that has currently tested positive is vaccinated, according to Moore.
Additionally, the LAPD's recruit academy is currently shut down due to a COVID outbreak, but is expected to reopen on Sunday.
(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
