5 Toronto police officers test positive for coronavirus, over 500 in self-isolation

The union that represents Toronto police officers confirms to Global News that five of its members have tested positive for COVID-19.

The members include four uniformed officers and one civilian officer.

“We have to look at how they contracted this disease, whether it was at work or wasn’t at work, so until we have all of that information we just don’t have a clear understanding of how they contracted the disease,” Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack said in an interview on Tuesday.

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McCormack also confirmed hundreds of officers are in self-isolation right now due to the coronavirus pandemic which is having a major impact on the service.

“When we look at how many members we have that are in self-isolation right now, we have well over 500 and that is causing some stress as well because that’s taking officers off the street,” he said.

Meaghan Gray, a spokesperson for the service, confirmed the first positive case among the frontline staff last week — an officer from 14 Division who told supervisors about the positive diagnosis on Thursday.

“We are working with public health authorities who are conducting an in-depth investigation related to the individual and their contacts,” Gray said.

McCormack said he is confident officers currently have enough personal protection equipment for calls, but adds more needs to be done to ensure ample supply in the weeks ahead.

“We are very concerned about exposure for our officers,” McCormack said.