CULVER CITY (CNS) - Eight Culver City Police Department employees have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past couple of weeks, department officials announced.
Two officers started to experience flu-like symptoms, including losing their sense of taste and smell, at some point last week, Sgt. Andrew Bellante of the Culver City Police Department said Thursday.
The two were sent home to quarantine, and the following day their COVID-19 tests confirmed they both had the coronavirus, he said.
Employees who had “prolonged direct contact'' with the officers were also tested and sent home to quarantine, and three of them tested positive, Bellante said.
In response, all police department employees were tested for the virus and non-patrol employees were sent home to work remotely, according to Bellante.
The testing showed that an additional officer and two other employees contracted the virus, bringing the department's total to eight, Bellante said.
The department is waiting for the results of 11 more tests, and 124 tests have come back as negative.
Non-patrol staff will either work from home or work modified staggered schedules until further notice to minimize contact between employees, Bellante said.
Information about the total number of CCPD employees to test positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic was not available.