4 police recruits, 1 officer positive for coronavirus

LR cases go into quarantine

Little Rock Police cadet Robert Scoggin (right) fires his pistol during the firearms training at the Little Rock Police training academy on Friday, May 22, 2020. 
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Little Rock Police cadet Robert Scoggin (right) fires his pistol during the firearms training at the Little Rock Police training academy on Friday, May 22, 2020. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)

Four recruits and one officer at the Little Rock Police Department Training Division recently tested positive for the coronavirus and have been quarantined, the department announced Wednesday.

The people who tested positive for the virus did not come in contact with members of the community, according to the department.

Officer Eric Barnes, a spokesman for the department, said one person at the academy got a test over the weekend. The test result turned out to be positive, so everyone else at the training division who could have been exposed was tested Monday.

The Police Department learned of those results Tuesday, Barnes said.

[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]

The testing of the remainder of the training division did not return other positive results in addition to the five positive cases, according to police. The training division building is being deep-cleaned, in accordance with public-health guidance, police said.

In spite of the virus outbreak this spring, the 16 recruits in the Little Rock police academy class are still expected to graduate at the end of this month.

The academy was relying on personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning efforts and temperature screenings as recruits arrive at the facility to try to ward off an outbreak, academy officials told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in May. However, they said social distancing wasn't always possible when performing close-quarters training activities in the academy setting.

The Arkansas Times on Wednesday first reported positive cases of the virus at the police academy.

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