On Saturday April 4th The City of Tybee Island received confirmation that one of our police officers has tested positive for coronavirus. First and foremost our thoughts and prayers are with this officer and we hope for a speedy recovery. We have been coordinating with CEMA and the Department of Health since the officer became symptomatic, and conducted contact tracing to determine which other members of the police department interacted with this officer.
We identified four members of the police department and quarantined them immediately. Additional contact tracing has been ongoing and out of an abundance of caution we are quarantining an additional five members of the police department. We have enough staffing to cover all of our shifts for the duration of the quarantine, and have asked the Georgia State Patrol for assistance during this time for added coverage.
Since the initial onset of symptoms the police department has been closed to the public and decontaminated several times. If officers need to enter the building to complete work, they are doing so one at a time. Physical contact with the public has been minimized and certain types of police reports will only be taken by telephone. Should our police officers need to have physical contact with someone, they are equipped with masks and gloves, and will take all necessary measures to protect themselves from the virus.