Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, has tested negative for the COVID-19 virus.

The test was conducted over the weekend days after the CoP held a meeting with someone who was a secondary contact of another person suspected of being positive for COVID-19.

The Top Cop said, “This just shows how susceptible the TTPS is due to the mandatory interaction with the public. Since the closure of our borders and the enforcement of the Public Health Ordinance Regulations in March, the men and women of the TTPS have been out there ensuring that members of the public adhere to the rules.

“We have been interacting with the public on the regulationsensuring that they do the right thing, and at the same time, doing our normal duties of protecting the citizens. We have continued with our anti-crime measures and as you can see, we have been very successful, especially during the lockdown period. Over the weekend alone, we seized 15 firearms and a wide assortment of ammunition at different locations.”

The CoP added, “Clearly, we have been interacting with the public and with that comes the possible exposure to persons with the virus or their secondary and primary contacts. We have engaged the men and women of the TTPS to be extra careful as we are now seeing community spread and no longer imported cases. We have ensured that our officers wear their masks and sanitize themselves on a regular basis. We have also limited visitations at police stations and departments.”

Within the past ten days, the TTPS had to temporarily close the Police Administration Building, the Old Police Headquarters, Riverside Plaza, and the Moruga and Barrackpore Police Stations, for sanitization after persons tested positive for COVID-19. So far, two police officers have tested positive for COVID-19.