Omaha Police, Fire chiefs implement mask requirement

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha firefighters and police officers are now required to wear surgical masks while indoors and on patrol in accordance with a mandate put in place Wednesday.

Citing the rising number of personnel testing positive for COVID-19, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Omaha Fire Chief Dan Olsen enacted the requirement.

“Currently, the Omaha Police Department has 35 employees off work due to testing positive for COVID. The Omaha Fire Department has 39 off due to testing positive for COVID. Most employees are vaccinated and have mild symptoms; however, a few unvaccinated employees have recently been hospitalized. This is consistent with the COVID surge Douglas County as a whole is experiencing due to the Omicron variant.”

Police officers will be required to wear masks while indoors or in a vehicle with another person as well as when they are interacting with the public. Omaha Fire personnel will be required to wear N95 masks when responding to medical emergencies.

“Chief Schmaderer, Chief Olsen, and our medical directors will continue to monitor the local COVID infection rate, and when safe to do so, will re-evaluate the mask mandates for OPD and OFD employees,” the release states.

Omaha has 906 police officers and 658 firefighters.

Copyright 2022 WOWT. All rights reserved.