Miami Beach cop tests positive for novel coronavirus, is in ‘good spirits,’ chief says
A Miami Beach police officer who tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Saturday was sent home “while this virus takes its course,” Miami Beach Police Chief Richard Clements wrote in an email to staff late Saturday night.
Miami Beach Spokeswoman Melissa Berthier said other city employees and police officers who were in contact with the infected officer are being evaluated and monitored. She didn’t know how many. It also wasn’t immediately clear if anyone who had come into contact with the infected officer was self-isolating.
The Saturday night email from the chief said the officer was in “good spirits.” The chief said the officer identified others who may have been in contact so they can be evaluated.
The officer “experienced a cough,” Berthier said.
“This will be an uphill battle during the next few weeks, but we will get through this together,” Clements wrote.
Though several first responders in various police and fire agencies have been quarantined, this is the first case made public in which a police officer in Miami-Dade County tested positive.
By Friday, most law enforcement agencies said officers were being screened prior to the start of their shifts. Miami has already quarantined at least 24 police officers. The city’s entire motorcycle unit — 21 officers — were quarantined after it escorted a Brazilian delegation in which several people tested positive for the virus. Several of those cops have returned to work, but the city said an additional 13 officers have been self-isolated after pre-shift screens determined they had a slight fever, sore throat or cough.
This story was originally published March 22, 2020 at 4:51 PM.
