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Third St. Louis County police employee tests positive for COVID-19

The worker does not come into contact with the public while on the job, the police department said

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — A third employee with the St. Louis County Police Department has tested positive for the coronavirus.

Friday evening, the department said the employee works in a “professional staff (civilian) capacity”, meaning the worker does not come into contact with the public while on the job. The police department said it’s not known how the employee contracted COVID-19.

Work areas have been cleaned and there are no other known cases at this time, police said.

Earlier this week, the St. Louis County Police Department confirmed a second employee tested positive. That worker also does not work with the public as part of their job.

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

The first employee of the police department to test positive was officer Nathan Phillips, who returned to work last 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."

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

According to the state health department numbers, St. Louis County has 2,088 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 72 deaths, the most of any county in Missouri.

RELATED: Missouri confirms 172 new COVID-19 cases, 13 additional deaths

You can see a county-by-county breakdown of confirmed cases in Missouri with 5 On Your Side's interactive map below.

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