Two Princeton police officers and a Mercer County corrections officer have tested positive for Covid-19, according to official reports from over the weekend.
The first Princeton officer to test positive began displaying symptoms on Friday, March 20. Princeton reports that the officer immediately took steps to self-isolate. The officer is currently not hospitalized, and is showing moderate symptoms of COVID-19.
The second Princeton police officer to test positive began displaying symptoms on Sunday, March 22, and also immediately took steps to self-isolate, Princeton reports. The officer is currently not hospitalized and has mild symptoms of COVID-19.
Two additional members of the police department are currently awaiting tests.
Princeton reports that neither officer had written any citations or made any arrests during the period of communicability, and the both had “limited contact with the public” during that time. Anyone that had direct contact with the officers has been or will be notified by the Princeton Health Department.
The Princeton Police Department says it has been employing a continuity of operations plan over the last several weeks which has isolated this exposure to a small group of officers. The group of officers are all being quarantined at this time.
The Mercer County Correction Center announced on Saturday that an employee has tested positive for COVID-19. The county reports that the person had not been at work since March 20, and the positive test was returned on March 26.
The county did not provide any further details about the employee.
As of Saturday the county says there were no positive cases of COVID-19 among other employees or inmates, and all individuals with access to the facility are being strictly monitored for signs and symptoms of the virus.
The county says the jail continues to follow the guidance provided by the Mercer County health officer as it relates to the safety of employees and inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contact tracing has been completed and impacted colleagues of the employee are being contacted to arrange for mandatory testing and self-quarantine.
The county also reports that through an ongoing collaborative effort that includes judges, court administration, the public defender and the state attorney general’s office, 17 inmates were approved by the courts for release and physically discharged by the jail as of March 26. Mercer County Correction Center’s daily count was at about 280 inmates as of Saturday. The facility has capacity for approximately 850 inmates, the county says.
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