Nine people at a Sacramento County fire dispatch center have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Friday. The novel coronavirus outbreak happened at the Sacramento Regional Fire/EMS Communications Center, Executive Director Tyler Wagaman said in a statement.“None of them has any interaction with the public as part of their job duties,” Wagaman said. “And, when members of our community call 911 for fire, medical or other emergency, they can be assured their call will be managed by a trained public safety dispatcher and fire personnel will be deployed to assist them.”Service at the 911 dispatch center has not been impacted. There is no reduction of service nor is one expected, the statement said.When officials heard about the first COVID-19 positive test, they implemented a rapid testing program to determine the size of the outbreak. Wagaman said the testing will continue to figure out when people can return to work or if there are any other cases at the dispatch center.“The Communications Center has and will continue to implement COVID-19 public health guidelines published by Sacramento County, the State of California and Centers for Disease Control to protect our employees from exposure to this coronavirus,” the statement said. “In addition, we have worked closely with our own medical director to ensure we are following the safety practices recommended for “critical infrastructure/essential workers.”Details on the timeline of the outbreak or the number of people in quarantine were not immediately available.Wagaman said employees’ medical costs are being covered and they are getting up to 80 hours of paid leave time as they recover from the virus or quarantine.“Due to technology requirements of emergency dispatch services, this work cannot be performed off-site,” he explained. “As critical public safety infrastructure, the Communications Center remains fully operational. We have a robust plan to maintain staffing and continue operations.”
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Nine people at a Sacramento County fire dispatch center have tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Friday.
The novel coronavirus outbreak happened at the Sacramento Regional Fire/EMS Communications Center, Executive Director Tyler Wagaman said in a statement.
“None of them has any interaction with the public as part of their job duties,” Wagaman said. “And, when members of our community call 911 for fire, medical or other emergency, they can be assured their call will be managed by a trained public safety dispatcher and fire personnel will be deployed to assist them.”
Service at the 911 dispatch center has not been impacted. There is no reduction of service nor is one expected, the statement said.
When officials heard about the first COVID-19 positive test, they implemented a rapid testing program to determine the size of the outbreak. Wagaman said the testing will continue to figure out when people can return to work or if there are any other cases at the dispatch center.
“The Communications Center has and will continue to implement COVID-19 public health guidelines published by Sacramento County, the State of California and Centers for Disease Control to protect our employees from exposure to this coronavirus,” the statement said. “In addition, we have worked closely with our own medical director to ensure we are following the safety practices recommended for “critical infrastructure/essential workers.”
Details on the timeline of the outbreak or the number of people in quarantine were not immediately available.
Wagaman said employees’ medical costs are being covered and they are getting up to 80 hours of paid leave time as they recover from the virus or quarantine.
“Due to technology requirements of emergency dispatch services, this work cannot be performed off-site,” he explained. “As critical public safety infrastructure, the Communications Center remains fully operational. We have a robust plan to maintain staffing and continue operations.”