Three Middletown police officers have returned to work after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
The officers have been medically cleared to return to duty and three more are set to return next Monday, Middletown Chief of Police Joseph Bartorilla told LevittownNow.com.
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Six of the department’s nine officers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered. Since last week, one additional officer tested positive and they are recovering at home, the chief said.
Despite about a fifth of the department being at home recovering from COVID-19 at one point, Middletown has been able to maintain around-the-clock patrol services without needing assistance from other towns through a county-wide mutual aid agreement.
“It has been difficult with quite a few officers quarantined awaiting test results, in addition to the officers who tested positive being out of work. We made some adjustments and did some reassignments as needed to ensure that patrol was always prioritized and fully staffed,” Bartorilla said.
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The chief explained that having six additional officers back on the roster by next week will reduce the strain.
“Plus you can tell that as this stay at home drags on and cabin fever is setting in, it’s starting to get a lot busier out there for us, so the officers are returning at the right time,” Bartorilla said.
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