Police departments in rural KY county lose officers to coronavirus quarantine.
Several police officers in Clay County have tested positive for COVID-19, stretching the ranks of local first responders.
Two officers from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and two from the Manchester Police Department have tested positive, local officials said Tuesday.
As a result, the four officers are in self-isolation, said Christie Green, director of the Cumberland Valley District Health Department announced Tuesday.
Sheriff Patrick Robinson said a third officer in his department also is off work and isolating because a family member tested positive.
The sheriff’s office only has 22 deputies, with several assigned to security at the judicial center, so having three officers in quarantine is a hardship, Robinson said.
“It puts a strain on the agency, mentally and physically,” Robinson said.
Robinson said in a Facebook post that his department is able to respond in person to emergencies and other immediate needs and will still be patrolling the county, but will handle reports on non-priority issues by telephone.
Robinson said he thinks deputies were exposed to the novel coronavirus while responding to a wreck.
The agency tested all officers to try to limit the spread of cases.
“It pretty quickly would represent a hardship for them,” if more officers had to be off work, Green said.
Robinson said the affected officers in his office haven’t had symptoms, but that the Manchester officers had shown “harsh” symptoms.
Grayson County Sheriff Norman Chaffins said in a Facebook post this week that the COVID-19 symptoms he suffered were terrible.
The Clay County and Manchester departments asked for prayer for the officers and their families on Facebook.
Clay County was among a number of rural counties in Kentucky that had relatively few confirmed COVID-19 cases until early June, but have since seen an increase.
There were 31 active cases in the county as of Tuesday, according to the health department.
“We’re still picking up cases,” Green said.
