First responders taking precautions due to coronavirus outbreak
SEASIDE, Calif. (KION) Central Coast first responders are taking precautions when they handle calls due to the coronavirus outbreak.
First responders are making sure to wear their typical protective gear but also departments are trying to limit the amount of crew members who go out on calls where people have flu like symptoms, which could indicate a potential coronavirus case.
First responders are out working on the front lines as the coronavirus outbreak spreads across California.
While there are no confirmed cases of the virus in Monterey County, the Marina Fire Department is preparing for the possibility of coming in contact with infected patients when they take calls.
“Obviously those things are airborne, people that are sneezing or coughing, that’s how the transmission is with the influenza. It’s the same with the coronavirus,” Marina Fire Department Division Chief Jack Lundgren said.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Lundgren said Marina Fire is limiting the exposure of their crew to potentially contagious patients by only sending a few firefighters to calls where patients to these types of calls.
They are also wearing gloves and glasses, and using disinfectant on shoes and surfaces.
When Marina Fire Department takes a medical aid call, they wear jackets which are blood and pathogen resistant. They also have masks which firefighters can wear to prevent them from breathing in contaminated air.
“We want to keep the first responders safe: the EMS crews, fire crews police departments. If we get sick, there’s less firefighters, police officers, EMS that can respond to the calls,” Lundgren said.
BUT some firefighters with the Salinas Firefighters Association are concerned if there’s enough gear to go around, especially with nationwide shortages as the virus spreads.
“The big thing that we’re concerned about is that we have plenty of personal protective equipment in stock and that we have it available to our members so that our members don’t have to worry about possibly being exposed on an incident and bringing something home to their families,” Salinas Firefighters Association President Josh Hostetter said.
If fire crews are exposed to a patient that tests positive for the coronavirus, they could be quarantined for 14 days.
“Did the patient cough on them? Was there contact with the patient? If it meets the benchmark then possibly yes, we would take them offline and then they would do a self quarantine,” Lundgren said.
Gilroy Fire Department crews were under brief surveillance after being exposed to a patient who was initially thought to have the virus.
But the test turned out to be negative.
While this is a potentially dangerous virus, Lundgren said it's important for the public to keep the coronavirus in perspective, and remember that the annual flu impacts thousands every year.
