By Gavin Mackintosh-
Kent police have seven of their police officers who have tested positive for Cocid-19 and another 24 suspected cases of officers self isolating with symptoms of the virus.
The news is worrying because of the vital role the police force play in keeping society safe. The force was decoy when The Eye Of Media.Com approached them to inquire about information relating to how and when they caught the virus, and within what time frame they tested positive for Covid-19.
Knowing precise details about this may not be possible in all cases, but the burning question is whether the officers all passed it to one another unknowingly. If the officers caught the virus before the lockdown was imposed and were working closely together, they may have passed it unknowingly to one another.
A critical issue is also whether they live alone or with their partners because all this determines whether they may have passed it on to lovers who may also have passed it around already.
Chief constable Alan Pughsley said: “I’m afraid we’ve had seven officers diagnosed with the Covid-19 virus, one of them is still in hospital and we wish him well.The police chief said: “Only 4% of my workforce are currently away from work, whether that’s sickness or self-isolating.””It’s right that we get it, and right that we’re waiting for it.”
He added: “We believe testing is coming to us pretty soon, we’re hoping we’ll have a full testing facility within the next 7-10 days or so.
“That’ll be good for the officers and of course good for the public we’re protecting.”Despite the majority complying with the lockdown restrictions, there has been an increase in the number of people flouting the measures.
CC Pughsley said: “The fixed penalty notices have now gone up to about 53 over the period of Covid-19, so has gone up significantly in the last week or so. Pughsley said although he would like to be able to test his officers immediately, he understands other emergency service staff need to have access to testing first.
He said: “I’m afraid there are some other emergency workers who need it before us – those in hospitals absolutely need it first I think.
“It’s right that we get it, and right that we’re waiting for it.”He added: “We believe testing is coming to us pretty soon, we’re hoping we’ll have a full testing facility within the next 7-10 days or so.
“That’ll be good for the officers and of course good for the public we are protecting.” Matt Hancock today announced that testing will be extended to include police officers
Image: Kent.police.uk