One officer has tested positive for COVID-19 at the Yorkton RCMP detachment, and 14 additional officers are in self-isolation.

Staff Sergeant Jeff Simpson says only the front office of the detachment is closed to the public.

“Our members are still on-duty 24/7, still providing service to the community of Yorkton and the surrounding areas,” Simpson said. “There has been no change to our policing operations, but based on the direction from SHA and the recent COVID-19 exposures that have happened within the city and within our own detachment, we are closed to the city for non-emergency issues.”

Simpson notes a COVID plan has been in place since the pandemic started.

“That includes ensuring our workplaces are safe, we have adequate PPE for our officers and our members, and members of the community that come into the detachment, we have hand sanitizer and face masks,” Simpson said. “We have increased our routineness of cleaning in the detachment, both within the detachment, our facilities in city hall, and our police vehicles and the equipment that we have outside.”

Simpson says that despite the loss in personnel, the detachment will not be bringing in additional officers from other communities.

“Yorkton’s detachment is one of the bigger detachments in the southern district within the RCMP in Saskatchewan, and as such, we have the luxury of having a lot of officers that are posted within the Yorkton detachment,” Simpson said. “Our operations have not been impacted, we’re still able to provide the same level of service that we have traditionally prior to this week that we have all along.”

The front office of the detachment is closed to the public for non-emergency matters, and is expected to re-open on October 12th.

{CJGX}