Aurora, CO -- In early March, Officer Judy Lutkin was helping a homeless man who had a bad cough. He had explained to Lutkin that he thought he had COVID-19. It was still early and the police department was short on Personal protection equipment at the time.
"I showed up on scene with just a pair of gloves," Lutkin said. "I didn't have a mask and I believe that’s where I contracted it."
It was the third week of March when Lutkin started having symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
"I had shortness of breath," Lutkin explained. "I lost my taste and smell and had a sore throat. I really wasn't feeling good."
Lutkin got tested and a few days later found out she was positive for Coronavirus.
Lutkin has been in quarantine in her Aurora home since the diagnosis.
"I feel very blessed that my symptoms weren’t worse and that I was able to recover at home," she said.
Judy's husband Russ also tested positive but he was asymptomatic the whole time. The couple has triplets. They're 27 years old and live on their own. Two of them are police officers as well.
"It’s interesting because Mallory has now been tested three times because of exposures," Lutkin said. "Audrey was tested two times and just got another phone call from her district that she was exposed again. Thankfully they've both had negative tests so far."
Lutkin is happy to have recovered but says we all need to take this pandemic seriously.
"I think we’ll have far less tragedy in the end it we take it seriously now," she said.
According to Lutkin, the Aurora Police Department has come through with loads of personal protection equipment in the last month.
1,200 N95 masks have already been delivered and 1,000 more are on the way. Eye protection and gloves have been provided too.
