NEW YORK — The New York Police Department has thousands of employees out with flu-like or coronavirus symptoms ahead of New Year’s Eve, according to a report.
As to Tuesday, NYPD had 6,000 officers out sick, which accounts for roughly 17% of the patrol force, the New York Post reported, citing police sources.
NYPD has approximately 36,000 officers on the books. Out of the officers out sick, roughly 3,000 were reported to be out sick with flu-like symptoms, while 1,300 were out sick after testing positive for COVID-19.
Although numbers have increased during the pandemic, the largest police agency in the country typically has between 3 percent and 4 percent — from 1,400 to 1,500 officers — out sick on any given day.
Consequently, there will be a lot of unhappy cops since regular days off were nixed due to the upcoming New Year’s weekend, according to an internal NYPD message that was distributed on Tuesday.
