Fort Mill Police Department employee tests positive for coronavirus, officials say
An employee of the Fort Mill Police Department has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said.
The test was confirmed Monday, said Fort Mill police Maj. Bryan Zachary.
It is unclear if the employee contracted the COVID-19 disease while at work, Zachary said. The employee is the first and only member of the department to test positive, Zachary said.
Fort Mill has about 55 sworn officers, plus civilian employees, according to officials. The position within the department of the employee involved has not been released.
The department will follow Centers of Disease Control recommendations concerning the positive test, Zachary said.
The positive test for the employee of the Fort Mill law enforcement agency is the sixth such case in York and Lancaster counties, officials said.
On Sunday, officials with the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services confirmed that a Lancaster County employee has tested positive for the virus and is isolated at home.
Last week, two Rock Hill Police Department officers tested positive for the virus and were quarantined at home, officials said. Employees with the Clover Police Department and York County Sheriff’s Office also tested positive, according to officials with those departments. .
Other agencies, including the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and first responders in Chester County, have placed employees under quarantine after possible exposure, but tests did not come back positive.
Doug Barfield, the spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, told The Herald Tuesday that no one from his office has tested positive for coronavirus.
As of Tuesday afternoon, York County has had 136 positive cases of coronavirus, according to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 1:57 PM.
