This story was updated on July 14 at 2:34 p.m.

Prince George’s County will test all police officers, firefighters, and other public safety employees for coronavirus in the coming days. Prince George’s has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Maryland — nearly 20,000 as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We are testing all of our public safety employees because they interact with the public on a daily basis,” said County Health Officer Ernest Carter in a statement. He called the testing a “proactive step.”

Prince George’s has increased its testing capacity in recent weeks, and Carter said there is currently sufficient capacity to test all public safety workers. Employees must provide documentation that they have been tested by July 31. They don’t have to use county testing sites, though those are available “as a convenient option,” according to Carter.

Prince George’s entered its Phase Two of reopening on June 29, allowing retail stores and gyms and other businesses to operate at 50% capacity.

“As we move through the phases of re-opening and work to keep our numbers low, it is important to know the status of our public safety employees so we can do all we can to ensure that they are not exposing the public to the virus,” said Carter.

There have been 692 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 in Prince George’s County — the second highest toll in Maryland, after neighboring Montgomery County.

Prince George’s has so far conducted 102,468 coronavirus tests, reaching about 11% of the county’s population.

This story was updated to add additional information about the time frame of required testing.