“The Lexington Police Department today learned that one of its officers has tested positive for COVID-19. The officer took the test after a family member began experiencing symptoms and tested positive. The officer is currently asymptomatic and has been self-isolating at home for several days,” the LPD said in a statement Thursday.
“This officer works an investigative assignment and does not have regular or frequent contact with the public like a patrol officer would. However, he has—like most sworn personnel in the department—worked during the downtown protests. The officer’s most recent protest assignment was Wednesday, June 10,” the release stated.
“The department will continue to monitor the condition of the affected officer and those he may have been in contact with.”
A spokesperson for the LPD told Newsweek in an email that the officer is at home and “his family members have since stopped experiencing symptoms.”
“We continue to monitor the condition of his direct co-workers. We have also shared this information with our local health department,” the spokesperson said.
Downtown Lexington has been the site of protests for 20 straight days, set off by the death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after then–police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the ground. Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, and the three officers present at the scene were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.
As demonstrators continue to call for police reforms and systemic changes, health officials in Fayette County, where Lexington is located, continue to urge residents to practice social distancing in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“To help fight the spread of COVID-19, keep following public health guidelines: stay at least 6 feet apart from anyone not in your household, wear a cloth mask covering your face and nose, and wash your hands often,” the Fayette County Health Department stated in a tweet Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Governor Andy Beshear also released a statement urging residents to wear a mask while the state undergoes a phased reopening even though it may be uncomfortable to do so: “Every single health official urges us to wear a mask. Although it’s a little uncomfortable, it’s one thing we can all do to prevent a spike and continue the reopening of our economy.”
Fayette County currently has 1,194 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus and 21 deaths attributed to the disease, according to the health department. Kentucky as a whole has 12,995 confirmed cases and 518 deaths attributed to the disease. There are also 416 patients currently hospitalized in the state with the disease and 3,444 recoveries since the start of the pandemic.
