Montgomery County Police and Fire Chiefs held a virtual media briefing on Friday to provide updates on the impact COVID-19 is having on its first responders.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Chief Scott Goldstein says their call volume was lower than normal for the past couple of weeks, but calls have picked back up. On a daily basis, five to six dozen of those calls are residents with viral COVID-19 symptoms. Chief Scott Goldstein added that each one of those calls require a different level of personal protective equipment for first responders. All personnel wear surgical procedure medical masks when responding to each incident.
Chief Goldstein says that EMS Strike Teams are helping by responding to coronavirus-related calls in an effort to relieve local hospital emergency rooms throughout the county.
Three members of the current Montgomery County Fire and Rescue recruit class became symptomatic. As of Thursday, the recruit class and their support personnel have been sent home and are self quarantined. There are a total of 47 members in the recruit class and seven instructors. The class had been in session since December. Officials say the academy is in the process of being cleaned thoroughly.
Chief Marcus Jones gave some insight into how police will be responding to new health orders. Chief Jones says there will not be criminal penalties in regards to enforcement for the new health order issued by County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles. Starting on Monday, April 13 all residents are required to wear face coverings when shopping at stores.
MyMCMedia tuned into the media briefing and put together some highlights with more information.
Officials say the amount of support that the community continues to give first responders during this pandemic is highly appreciated.
