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Weymouth police officer tests positive for COVID-19

WEYMOUTH, Mass. — A Weymouth police officer has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an internal memo obtained by Boston 25 News.

The memo, which was sent out on Friday at 5:30 p.m., said the department had just been notified an officer who was tested for COVID-19 on Thursday had tested positive.

The memo states the officer will remain in self-isolation at his home until further notice.

The officer has been out of work since his midnight shift on Wednesday, according to the memo. The department notified the officers who used the same cruiser as the infected officer on his last shift

The memo asks any officer who had direct unprotected contact with the infected officer since Saturday to contact the chief as soon as possible. The infected officer is named in the memo, but Boston 25 News is not identifying the officer.

“As we work through the logistics involved with coordinating with our first Weymouth police officer who has tested positive for Covid-19, we should all reflect on the important of practicing social distancing, not just on a call for service on the street but everywhere while both on and off duty,” the memo states.

The department has issued a set of guidelines for the officers during the pandemic. According to the memo, no two officers should be riding together in the same cruiser under any circumstances, officers should not eat together in the lunch room, no more than two people should be in the lunch room at the same time, no officers should be in close proximity to one another in the report room and no more than two officers should be in the report room at the same time. Also, for any officer working a detail shift, the department said they should be at least six feet apart from everyone at the site.