RCMP officers catch bad guys, not COVID-19

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, police officers have been one of few occupations and essential services not disrupted from most regular activities including close human contact, but they've also somehow largely escaped infection.

While B.C.’s total number of COVID-19 cases has passed the 3,000 mark, only a handful have been RCMP officers.

There are about 6,900 regular RCMP members working in B.C. and the Southeast Division covering most of South Central and South East B.C. has about 1,300 employees.

Out of all those, only 11 have tested positive for COVID-19 as of today, July 9, according to Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet, senior media relations office for B.C. RCMP. That's a .001 per cent infection rate. 

“As an emergency response agency, we do have existing protocols and procedures that deal with these types of health situations,” she wrote in an email. “As police officers, we routinely have to take precautions due to contacts with individuals and communicable diseases. Our members deal with exposure to bodily fluids and other bio-hazards regularly, so our training and procedures have always focussed on reducing those risks.”

Most of the cases happened early in the pandemic. All those infected self-isolated at home and have since returned to work.

“While circumstances are ever changing, to this point we have not had any reports of confirmed cases that have placed the public at risk or required the public to be notified due to close contact,” Shoihet wrote.

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