Another essential employee has tested positive for the coronavirus. An officer from the Guam Police Department is now in self-quarantine at home after a COVID-19 test returned positive over the weekend.
The police officer is assigned to the Dededo Precinct, according to GPD spokesman Sgt. Paul Tapao. He says that on June 27, GPD was made aware through Public Health’s contact tracing that the officer had tested positive for COVID-19.
“He’s assigned to the Dededo Precinct Command. I don’t know what responsibilities are given to each personnel that’s there …again we are still working with mitigating efforts with Public Health. We don’t have information about whether he was asymptomatic or if he was showing signs or symptoms. We just got the information like I mentioned,” Tapao said.
He added: “Right now, we are making the assessment up at the Dededo Precinct command to mitigate any close contact the officer had made with the personnel assigned to Dededo precinct.”
Not much is known about the officer’s case as the department is unsure how the officer contracted the disease. Tapao, however, states that the department is working to identify other officers who may have been exposed through Public Health’s contact tracing investigation.
So will this cripple an already short-staffed department?
“Commander Chief Stephen Ignacio has assured that the coverage will still be provided to the community. There are contingency plans that were in place so we have everything pretty much outlined on how personnel will be shifted and how to properly deploy the personnel in the event of a shortage of coverage,” Tapao said.
He added that sanitation and preventative measures are being implemented at the Dededo Precinct to ensure the community is not at risk of exposure.
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