NEW YORK — An FDNY EMS member who works is Brooklyn has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, forcing several of that person’s coworkers to undergo a mandatory quarantine, officials said.
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Oren Barzilay, President of FDNY EMS Local 2507, told WABC-TV the diagnosis was “inevitable” as EMS members are “continually exposed to diseases and illness.”
“Despite the ongoing risks associated with this virus for our members, their families and their friends, we are all absolutely dedicated to protecting New Yorkers with the emergency medical services they need during these uncertain times,” Barzilay said in a statement to the station.
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Earlier on Friday, the FDNY had blocked firefighters from responding to 911 calls for coronavirus symptoms, according to the New York Daily News. The department said calls for asthma attacks, fever, coughs and difficult breathing were be handled by emergency medical services.
