SOUTH Yorkshire Police officers are being urged to get COVID tests.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation says several officers are recovering from the virus in hospital while others have been away from the frontline recuperating at home.<\/p>\n
Federation Chairman Steve Kent says its vital officers take advantage of the lateral COVID tests being offered by the force to help keep them and their families stay safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe force is rolling out lateral flow testing for officers which is a bit of a gradual process, but it\u2019s very good news for officers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say to them engage with the tests as much as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may be some personal reasons, why people don\u2019t want the tests because they\u2019re quite intrusive around your nose and your mouth, but unless there are specific issues like that, then please engage with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might mean the force asking you to come in that little bit earlier to do it and for them to make it up to you in other ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, you can rely on the regulations in terms of what they can and can\u2019t make you do, but this is for you as much as it is for the force and it\u2019s for you and your families as well,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I\u2019m really keen for officers to get on board with this and I think it\u2019s a real positive step in the right direction in terms of keeping our officers healthy and in the workplace, and also preventing the spread,\u201d Steve added.<\/p>\n
Across the force the ratio of officers who have contracted COVID is similar to the rest of the country, Steve said, although the South Yorkshire force has fared better than other constabularies in England and Wales.<\/p>\n
Much of that has been down to how the force has handled the pandemic, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly we\u2019ve got officers off sick, and we\u2019ve got a number of officers who are in hospital, thankfully recovering at the minute.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are reflective of society in terms of that general sickness level. But to be fair our abstractions in our force have always been quite a lot lower than everybody else, and I think that is a genuine testament to the way the force has handled it,\u201d Steve said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been ahead of the curve as much as possible when it comes to the virus, and I want to pay tribute to the overall approach of the force in terms of COVID because I think they\u2019ve been absolutely spot on.\u201d<\/p>\n