Three Qld police officers test positive to Covid-19, 100 in isolation

Three Queensland police officers have tested positive to Covid-19, sending more than 100 into isolation from two police districts.

Three Queensland Police officers have tested positive to Covid-19, sending over 100 others into isolation.

A total of 101 police officers from Logan and the Gold Coast have been forced to isolate just days from Christmas, after two police officers tested positive to the virus on the Gold Coast, and another tested positive in Logan.

It was on Monday confirmed that 52 Queensland Police Service staff from the Gold Coast and 49 from Logan are in isolation following the positive test result of their colleagues.

Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the service was not concerned over the substantial number of staff now forced into isolation.

Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski says Queensland Police response times will not be affected by the number of officers now in isolation. Picture: NCA NewsWire / John Gass

“We have been planning for this right across the government right throughout the pandemic and expecting this to happen at some stage,” he said.

“Our plan is pretty solid, I’m comfortable with where it is at the moment … We will continue to monitor that and if we see any pressures anywhere, on the Gold Coast for instance, we will bring other police in from other areas, we have the flexibility to do that.”

Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said during the peak of Covid-19 compliance checks earlier this year, up to 1300 staff each day were pulled from their usual duties to tend to Covid-19-related matters.

He said that currently about 500 staff per day were tied up in Covid-19 matters, and there were no concerns the number of staff in isolation would impact QPS response time or duties.

“We have the flexibility there … We’re not sitting here waiting for things to happen, we have been planning for this,” Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski said.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said the exposure of police, and other emergency services and health workers, was inevitable, and that he supported Deputy Commissioner Gollschewski’s plan to maintain service delivery.

“However as I have previously stated, if we have too many instances of police having to isolate for a period of days, the Commissioner will need to bring police in on overtime to ensure we can maintain an appropriate policing presence to keep the community safe,” he said.