The NYPD has rolled out a new iPhone app for its cops to help keep up to date on coronavirus information in the department — a move that sources say is “too little, too late,” according to police sources.
The COVID-19 app was installed on officers’ department-issued phone on Wednesday, providing information on patrol operations, working remotely, an FAQ, updates and a tribute to those who have died from the virus, sources told The Post.
It also tells cops how to call in sick and request personal protective equipment, the sources said.
“Too little, too late,” one source said of the app. “The city failed us. The department failed us. The unions failed us.”
Cops had been frustrated at the lack of information being provided by the top brass over the last few weeks as the outbreak ravaged the staffing levels — peaking at around 20 percent of uniformed cops out sick last week.
As of Wednesday night, nearly 6,300 uniformed officers were out sick.
Another source voiced a similar sentiment, adding they had little confidence the app would be useful when it popped up on their phone Wednesday.
But the source conceded it, “does give me a little insight into what’s going on in the department.”
“It does simplify [things] since everything is in one spot rather than jumping around emails and new patrol guide procedures.”
In addition, the app provides a breakdown of current sick numbers in the ranks and social distancing patrol numbers, similar to the daily updates the NYPD has been providing to the press since mid-March.
It does not currently include a total count of how many members have contracted the virus since the outbreak started — a number that had been underreported until Wednesday.
The city’s top cop said Thursday that count was nearing 4,200 with “many” more tests pending.
“That number is going to up, there’s no doubt in my mind,” Shea said in Twitter Q&A Thursday morning.
A spokeswoman for the NYPD said the app was a simple shortcut added to cops’ phone to direct them to the department’s website with all the information.