Tuesday, 600 Dallas police officers and their spouses will get COVID-19 tests through a partnership between the Dallas Police Association and SafeWork.
“We’ve had an upsurge, just like the county has, of positive tests throughout the department,” DPA president Mike Mata said. “I had a lot of officers reach out to me who were very concerned, not just about their health and their safety, but also their families and they just wanted a peace of mind.”
The day-long testing will take place at DPA headquarters and results should come in between 36 and 48 hours from a local lab.
“Instead of the employee having to go to a facility and find a facility, we were able to bring the facility to them in an environment they feel comfortable in and in an environment we can control,” Mata said.
Mata said it was important to include spouses on the testing schedule.
“We wanted to offer it to the spouses because that is who we are afraid we are infecting every time we go home,” Mata said. “Because we are at the office and we have to answer those 911 calls and we don’t know who we are coming in contact with.”
