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(AP Photo / Ross D. Franklin)
PHOENIX – Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams has tested positive for COVID-19, the department said Friday.
Williams has minor symptoms and is working from home while in quarantine, the department said in a press release.
Department No. 2, Deputy Executive Chief Michael Kurtenbach, also recently tested positive for coronavirus, the statement said. He is expected to return from quarantine next week.
Deputy Chief Patrick Connolly is the Acting Police Chief while Kurtenbach and Williams are sidelined.
Williams has served as Phoenix Police Chief since October 2016. Kurtenbach has served the department for three decades and was promoted to his current position the month after Williams took office.
Williams’ diagnosis comes the same week as Arizona’s first COVID-19 vaccine was distributed. Some first responders are on the priority list to receive the blows.
Several COVID-19 measurements in Arizona are reaching or approaching the highest levels of the pandemic.
Arizona health officials on Friday reported 7,635 new coronavirus cases and 142 more deaths, as hospitals across the state continued to fill up.
It was the third day in a row with at least 100 deaths reported. Until Thursday, there had never been consecutive triple-digit days.
The state’s documented totals have increased to 442,671 COVID-19 infections and 7,819 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
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