Tuesday, March 17, 2020 | 1:02 p.m.
Metro Police say they have upped their hygienic and safety practices and canceled nonessential public events because of the coronavirus outbreak.
As the virus spreads, “the pace for patrol officers has remained unchanged as they continue to respond to calls for services,” Metro said in a statement.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo asked Metro personnel to postpone work-related travel and to regularly sanitize their work stations, gear and patrol vehicles.
Officers have been advised to keep a safe distance when interacting with the public and to wear gloves when making arrests.
Earlier, Metro announced that corrections officers at the Clark County Detention Center were screening incoming inmates for potential exposure to the virus that has infected 42 people in Clark County and resulted in one death.
Staff in the jail are doubling their cleaning efforts and have been “practicing proper hygiene upon entering the jail,” police said.
Inmate visitations are conducted by video conference from downtown Las Vegas and have not been impacted.
All Metro community oriented policing events, such as First Tuesday meetings, have been canceled, as well as ceremonies, including those that were to take place during Police Memorial Month in May.
Metro encouraged people to use online services as much as possible to file police reports and gain access to records to cut down on the number of people at police facilities.
