Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
Just shy of two weeks into its 42nd class, about three-quarters of the cadets at the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office academy came down with COVID-19.
Jayme Fuller, a BCSO spokeswoman, said 26 cadets and one instructor – out of a total of 34 cadets and two instructors – at the Regional Training Academy have the illness caused by the novel coronavirus.
She said they mostly have mild or no symptoms, and no one has been hospitalized.
However, the academy, Downtown at Fourth and Tijeras NW, had to shut down for two weeks after the first positive test on Nov. 8. It is expected to reopen Nov. 23.
“The academy is an essential service, and the cadets are required to be in person for their training to become a certified law enforcement officer,” Fuller wrote in an email. “Just like health care workers and other first responders, we are at risk of person-to-person spread. Masks are worn by everyone in the academy at all times.”
Fuller said the cadets were taking other precautions as well, including social distancing, testing and hand-washing. She said that as soon as the first positive result came back, the academy was immediately suspended and everyone was sent to get tested and quarantine at home.
Other local first responders have also had their own outbreaks in recent weeks.
A spokesman for Albuquerque Fire Rescue said that 23 firefighters currently have the virus but that he expects a couple of those to no longer be active cases in the next couple of days.
Last week, AFR Deputy Chief Emily Jaramillo said the department’s spike started in the beginning of November. She said the department has had 39 cases since the pandemic entered New Mexico in March, about half of them in the past couple of weeks.
Rebecca Atkins, a spokeswoman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said APD currently has 28 employees with COVID-19 – 18 sworn officers and 10 civilians.
She said that there have been 76 cases since March and that 85 employees are in quarantine and awaiting test results after having come into contact with someone who has the virus.
As for BCSO, the outbreak at the academy and the ensuing pause in the 26-week course means graduation will be pushed back two weeks, Fuller said. She said that one sworn deputy was infected from the academy and that since the pandemic began, 10 deputies have tested positive.
“We have been dealing with positive cases and exposures since March of this year,” Fuller said. “Positive tests and exposures require quarantine until safe to return to work and then we get back to business.”
