The Los Angeles Police Department said over 80 of its employees have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past week, nearly doubling its case numbers from the previous week as its vaccination rate hovers below 50 percent.
Of the 84 cases, 26 were at the city’s Central Division station, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The data from the department show that the overall weekly numbers have doubled as the vaccination rate within the police department remains around 47 percent, according to NBC Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles City Council mandated last week that city workers, including police officers, be fully vaccinated by October.
“This is not radical. This is just common sense,” City Council President Nury Martinez said after the mandate passed, NBC Los Angeles reported.
The mandate was denounced by city fire Capt. Chris Granucci, who said in a video posted on Telegram that he is “hopping mad.”
“There is a large group of us, in the hundreds, and we have an attorney on retainer, and he is a shark,” Granucci said.
Fire officials warned of a “devastating impact on public safety” if “even a small percentage” of firefighters were forced out because of their refusal to be vaccinated.
Granucci is under investigation for making the public opinion statement apparently while wearing a fire department uniform.
Police Chief Michel Moore did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
