LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Chief Michel Moore said today that the number of new COVID-19 cases within the Los Angeles Police Department is slowing down.
A total of 2,564 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and 2,069 have returned to work, with 576 remaining in quarantine, Moore said. Five are hospitalized.
“The organization, as we're looking at the COVID-19 pandemic, is experiencing a marked slowdown in the number of new cases, which I'm grateful for, and we're also seeing a return of more individuals back to work, and their full recovery from the COVID pandemic,'' Moore said.
Two employees died of the virus in the last week. Sgt. Patricia Guillen, a 23-year veteran of the department, died Thursday; and Dexter De Los Santos, a security officer who worked in that position for eight years, died Friday, Moore said.
They were the seventh and eighth LAPD employees who have died of coronavirus-related complications since the pandemic began.
“We mourn their loss, but also recognize that they are part of a much larger community of Los Angeles, of both essential workers and others that have paid such a terrible price for dealing with the pandemic,'' he said.
Funeral service plans for Guillen and De Los Santos are pending.
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