The NYPD will begin taking the temperatures of police officers Wednesday, as the virus sweeps through the ranks, the Post has learned.
“In an effort to slow the possible spread of COVID-19, the department will be implementing a pilot temperature screening program city-wide starting with one precinct in each borough,” a memo circulated among brass in Patrol Borough Manhattan North reads.
The move comes exactly one month after schools were closed and as a mounting number of police officers and civilian NYPD employees have called out sick and tested positive for the virus with some of them dying.
As of Monday, 6,380 members of the NYPD were out sick, about 17 percent of the 36,000-strong force — including 2,334 cops with the virus, NYPD data show. The high was on April 9 when there were 7,155 members out — almost 20 percent of the NYPD.
There have been 19 civilian members of the NYPD and five officers who have died of the illness.
Under a personnel strain, the department has instructed detectives to don their patrol uniforms and lend a hand on the streets, sources said. That plan has been in place for weeks, but officials only pulled the trigger on Monday, sources said.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona
