A COVID-19 outbreak was declared Thursday at the RCMP headquarters in Regina.
Two employees who work at the building recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to RCMP spokesperson Jessica Cantos.
“These two employees have not been in the building since last week … They’ve been in self-isolation and will remain in there until being cleared by the Saskatchewan Health Authority,” she said Friday.
Employees who work at headquarters and the support services building were encouraged on Thursday to work from home, when possible, for the remainder of the week, Cantos said.
“This allowed us to do the cleaning and disinfecting of the buildings and as well as complete contact tracing,” she said.
“The front counter remains open to the public … We’re just waiting for an update to see when things can resume back to normal for our side but for the public space inside, nothing’s changed.
“We have been preparing for this for months and we have hand sanitizing stations, disposal masks available, one-way footpaths and things like that to encourage physical distancing.”
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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