Montgomery County Cop Tests Positive For Coronavirus

GAITHERSBURG, MD — A Montgomery County police officer has tested positive for COVID-19, authorities confirmed on Saturday. It is the first confirmed case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, within the 1,300-member force.

The county's police department said the infected officer "had limited interaction with the public but did work across several sections of the police department." Officials do not believe the officer contracted the virus at work, but said that the Department of Health and Human Services is working with police to notify anyone who may have been in contact with him.

"While this case is concerning, it is not surprising as coronavirus knows no bounds," Dr. Travis Gayles, the county's health officer, said. "Please know we are diligently working to keep all our first responders, County employees and residents as safe as possible. As the number of individuals with COVID-19 increases across the state, we are unfortunately likely to see more cases among our first responders."

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As of Sunday morning, there are 244 confirmed cases in Maryland — 83 of which are in Montgomery County. When the police department first put out a statement about the infected officer on Saturday afternoon, there were 190 confirmed cases in Maryland. Sixty-eight of those cases were in Montgomery County, according to health officials.

Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. It also has the most confirmed cases of COVID-19. Based on the state's tally, Prince George's county comes in second with 40 cases.

On Saturday, the state confirmed its third coronavirus fatality. The patient was a Montgomery County woman in her 40s who suffered from underlying medical conditions.

A Prince George's County man in his 60s was the state's first coronavirus fatality, while the second victim was a Baltimore County man in his 60s. Both patients had underlying medical conditions, authorities said.

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