Metro

NYPD partners with health care groups to give cops free coronavirus tests

The NYPD has partnered with three health care groups to provide free coronavirus testing to all cops.

Officers who are showing symptoms similar to the pandemic COVID-19 will be able to visit one of 74 locations in and around the Big Apple, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea wrote Friday in a department-wide email.

“This comes at a crucial moment, as testing for the presence of coronavirus is integral in our ongoing mission to protect the city we serve, ” Shea wrote in the email obtained by The Post.

As of Thursday evening, 1,354 uniformed officers and 169 civilian employees had tested positive for the coronavirus and nearly 6,500 cops were out sick as the virus continued to plague the department’s staffing.

The majority of the sites will allow cops to walk in themselves while access to others will be based on referrals from the department’s medical division.

The new access to tests, a key issue of the police unions, gives cops another option to having to go to one of the state’s drive-thru sites.

A dedicated coronavirus testing spot was set up two weeks ago, but it was only open for a few hours before running out of tests.

Shea said on Monday the department was working to “boost up that capacity.”

A high-ranking source told the Post earlier this week the NYPD was working on three or four sites to be up running by the end of the week.

The new partnership involves NorthWell Health, ProHealth and Montefiore Health Systems — all of which are waiving the co-pays to test cops.

The CEO of Montefiore, Phil Ozuah, is a trustee of the New York City Police Foundation and helped line up the deal with his health group.