Winnipeg's Chief of Police Danny Smyth shares that while a worker in the Winnipeg Police Service's (WPS) communications centre has contracted COVID-19, the call center is still in operation.

The employee is said to have last worked on April 1 answering 911, service, police, and ambulance calls. Four employees who worked in proximity to the employee are self-isolating as a precaution. Chief Smyth says none of the four employees are displaying symptoms of COVID-19.

The employee was tested on April 4 for COVID-19, where she tested positive for the illness.

"My thoughts and prayers are with our employee as she recovers," Chief Smyth says.

The WPS does not know how the worker contracted the virus but hope to learn more soon as the investigation continues.

Chief Smyth says that the center is very spacious and allows for ventilation and space the WPS asks for workers to remain at a distance from one another. He adds there is a back-up centre but that they are not using it at this time.

"There is a lot of distance between individual employees," the Chief of Police adds.

Chief Smyth adds that regardless of the temporary loss of five staff members there was no disruption in call services thanks to other staff members filling in the absences.