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Police officers forced to self-isolate after colleague tests positive following retirement party

Blackburn with Darwen is now an "area of intervention" due to a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Thursday 30 July 2020 09:31, UK

Some of the officers had attended a retirement party for a colleague at Blackburn's Greenbank police station. Pic: Google Street View
Image: Some of the officers had attended a retirement party for a colleague at Blackburn's Greenbank Police Station. Pic: Google Street View
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A group of police officers in Blackburn are self-isolating after a colleague tested positive for coronavirus following a retirement party at the local station, the force has confirmed.

The Lancashire Constabulary officer developed symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 on 21 July.

They were diagnosed with the virus after attending a "retirement gathering" at Greenbank Police Station in Blackburn, the force added.

Once they received the positive test result, 22 officers were told to self-isolate for contact tracing purposes, reports the Lancashire Telegraph.

It comes after Blackburn with Darwen was identified as an "area of intervention" by Public Health England following a spike in coronavirus cases.

The area now has a similar number of infections to Leicester - the only place in the UK to have suffered a local lockdown.

People in Blackburn must wear face coverings in all indoor public spaces and are limited to having two members of another household in their homes to stop the spread of the virus.

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But a Leicester-style lockdown is not thought to be likely, according to government sources.

A Lancashire Constabulary spokesman told Sky News: "We can confirm some police officers based in Blackburn are self-isolating after a colleague tested positive for COVID-19."

Assistant chief constable Peter Lawson added: "We take the health of both our officers and the communities we serve extremely seriously.

"As soon as we were notified by an officer that they had tested positive for COVID-19 we immediately started tracing their contacts and requiring them to self-isolate.

"I can reassure people that we continue to meet all our minimum staffing levels and there will be no effect on operational policing in the county."

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