Ottawa Police Service to implement mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy
Posted Oct 29, 2021 06:23:00 PM.
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is going to make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory for all of its members after all.
Chief Peter Sloly and Chair of the Ottawa Police Services Board (OPSB) Diane Deans announced, Friday, October 29, that all OPS members will have to be fully immunized against COVID-19 by January 31, 2022.
It's a change of tune for the OPS, after it shared details of its COVID-19 vaccination policy on Monday, which outlined that unvaccinated employees would only have to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test every 72 hours.
“I share the opinion that all eligible OPS members should be fully vaccinated,” wrote Deans, in a statement Friday afternoon. “This measure will ensure public confidence in the OPS.”
“As Chief, my job is to ensure we have the resources needed to respond immediately and effectively to any emergency and keep the public safe,” said Sloly. “In a pandemic, that also means working closely with Ottawa Public Health towards the goal of 100 percent vaccination for all our members, as announced earlier this month.”
Deans says the January deadline will allow the OPS to continue its vaccination efforts while mitigating any potential consequences of an understaffed service on emergency response time.
In the meantime, the OPS is expected to continue to regularly test unvaccinated members and will offer educational resources and on-site vaccination opportunities prior to the deadline.
“We have received a limited supply of tests at no cost to the taxpayer,” explained Chief Sloly. “After those tests run out, unvaccinated employees will be required to pay for their own tests.”
Almost 84 per cent of OPS members are fully vaccinated as of Friday.
