Dermot Shea spoke to the Fox5 Morning Show and said 322 officers recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Shea said the jump has been significant and that
“What we’re seeing here is that, if you look at community spread, the assumption is that large portions of New York City residents and members of the workforce have been exposed. We prepare for events. Every event is different, and this is certainly a unique one, but we have a good track record, and we have a lot of experience in terms of working through crises.”
The commissioner gave more details on the impact of the virus, saying over 3,237 officers are currently out on sick leave as of this past Wednesday. That’s three times the normal rate according to Shea. Many police on the force are still waiting to be tested, and Shea noted that the focus now is to backfill patrol. In the mean time, the NYPD will be setting up an operational task force that consists of 600 officers to replace the sick cops.