The Essential People: Keeping the community safe

COVID-19

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While some people are able to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers are doing their best to continue their services and keep communities safe and running.

Sheriff Leon Lott of Richland County, South Carolina shares what it’s like working during the pandemic and how the department is keeping their deputies safe. What’s happening in Richland County can be echoed in communities across the U.S.

With 800 deputies, Richland County is a rural and metropolitan area. The county is home to the state’s capital and has the most COVID-19 cases statewide.

To keep deputies safe, they carry personal protective supplies like gowns, gloves and masks.

Patrol cars and offices are also sanitized regularly.

Since schools, courthouses and other places that usually require their own security, are closed, Sheriff Lott says those officers are now patrolling the streets. It’s led to an increase in visibility, which he says helps show strength during the pandemic.