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Omaha Police make changes to address surge in COVID-19 cases in South Omaha

Posted at 6:48 PM, May 22, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-22 19:48:09-04

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - In South Omaha, the Omaha Police Department has made changes to their day to day operations in order to address the surge of COVID-19 cases.

It's an area that at first had to conduct several social distancing compliance checks on businesses and large gatherings. But now due to support from local organizations and Omaha Police Department's southeast precinct to help educate and prevent, Capt. Kathy Gonzalez says more people are social distancing.

“We also have officers that are assigned on a full-time basis to do compliance checks so if a radio call comes in, they can ultimately go out and do that,” she said. “And I think that people recognize that those calls are being made and that people need to adhere to it as well because there is enforcement if need be.”

Gonzalez says in South Omaha, her officers and even bilingual civilian staff are also helping direct traffic at local food pantries and COVID-19 testing sites, like at One World Health Community Center to ensure more people are getting tested.

For more on how Omaha Police is ensuring the community is staying safe, watch the report above from 3 News Now anchor Maya Saenz.

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