The FDNY has 38 members under coronavirus quarantine, and will be changing up staffing protocol to reduce further spread of the bug, the agency said Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a number that is very fluid. It has gone up, and it has gone down,\u201d FDNY spokesperson Jim Long told the media, refusing to say how many of the employees were fire fighters or EMS workers.<\/p>\n
Only\u00a0one EMS worker\u00a0has\u00a0tested positive for the virus\u00a0and he contracted it off-duty, the FDNY has previously said.<\/p>\n
In an effort to maintain the department\u2019s emergency response capabilities, they\u2019ll be switching EMS workers from 8-hour shifts to 12-hour shifts, while also eliminating partner rotation to reduce the virus\u2019s spread.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese modifications will increase social distancing where possible, limit member to member contact within our ranks, and will not impact our operational response, only the scheduling of our workforce,\u201d the FDNY said in a statement.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve also created a new emergency call designation for \u201cfever\/cough\u201d so first responders can easily determine if a 911 call could be COVID-19 related, the agency said.<\/p>\n
As of the end of January, the FDNY has sent ambulances to 350 of those calls and are also screening callers about where they\u2019ve traveled in the past two weeks and whether they\u2019ve been around anyone who traveled to affected countries, the agency said.<\/p>\n
They added 911 calls overall are up 5-percent, from about 190,000 last year to 200,000 this year but that\u2019s not necessarily related to COVID-19.<\/p>\n
As of Friday, a total of 421 people\u00a0have been infected statewide, according to the New York State Department of Health. At least 154 are in the five boroughs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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