Yesterday evening, it was announced that 211 New York Police Department members had been tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus which continues to affect the city and the rest of the world.
The massive 38% jump in cases adds the city’s woes as the coronavirus begins to hamper public services.
New York City is the most heavily affected part of the USA, claiming an estimated 5% of all global cases and nearly 15,000 cases as of yesterday.
According to NY1, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said 177 uniformed members and 34 civilian members had tested positive, as the number of patients rise dramatically on a daily basis.
Shea said, “It’s a trend as you talk about what we’ve seen and what we’re trying to do with social distancing, and lowering the curve. What we’re seeing internally as an agency on the frontlines is, we are still on an upward climb,” as members are being provided with relevant products to mitigate and prevent the spread of the virus.
The Hill reported that, according to Shea, another 2,700-2,800 members have called in sick.
Mayor Bill De Blasio (D) said that the city’s medical supplies may not last the following two weeks.
He said: “We do not expect this to go quickly. I wish we did, but we don’t.”
“April will be unquestionably worse than March, and right now my fear is that May could be worse than April,” he added.
De Blasio went onto stress the importance of ventilators as being the determining factor between life and death in the current situation.
The NYPD announced that they would be hiring additional cleaning staff as resources are stretched to the limit during this pandemic.
