Second St. Louis County Police Department employee tests positive for COVID-19

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A second St. Louis County Police Department employee tested positive for COVID-19, a department spokesman said Tuesday evening.

The spokesman said the employee serves the department in a "professional staff capacity" and does not come into contact with the public as part of his or her job. The department does not believe the employee contracted the virus while at work.

All potentially affected work areas were thoroughly cleaned and the department is not aware of any other associated cases, the spokesman said.

The only other employee of the St. Louis County Police Department to test positive was Officer Nathan Phillips, who returned to work over the weekend after recovering from COVID-19.

In an interview Monday, Phillips had a message for that community and everyone else reading his story: "Keep hope that you can get through it and take all the precautions you can to maintain your health."

RELATED: 'Keep hope that you can get through it' | St. Louis County police officer returns to work after recovering from COVID-19

As of April 14, St. Louis County has 1,851 cases and 53 deaths, the most of any county in Missouri.

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