San Antonio Police Department issues new safety protocols for officers, employees

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department has issued new safety protocols effective immediately in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release.

The department will now require officers responding to calls for service or interacting with the public during police business to wear protective eyewear and N95 masks when safe to do so, police said.

In addition, personnel working inside police facilities shall wear a surgical cloth mask in all situations where it is not possible to maintain the 6-foot or more social distance requirement, according to police.

Personnel will also be required to wear masks when outside police facilities in public view, police said.

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new virus, stands for coronavirus disease 2019. The disease first appeared in late December 2019 in Wuhan, China, but spread around the world in early 2020, causing the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic in March. The first case confirmed in the U.S. was in mid-January and the first case confirmed in San Antonio was in mid-February.

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