Nearly 20 percent of FDNY/EMS members and over 10 percent of NYPD cops screened for coronavirus antibodies tested positive, Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed Wednesday, as the state death toll crept towards 18,000.
The results came in days after Cuomo announced that 1,000 members from each department would be tested for antibodies, which would indicate that their immune systems battled the bug at some point. - PUB DATE: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Gov. Jay Inslee has called for a “rapid-response” contact tracing effort as part of his plan for the gradual reopening of Washington state, likening it to “something like a fire brigade.”
Contact tracing is a method by which public health officials identify individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 and track down anyone they may have been in contact with. - PUB DATE: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Daily
VIDEO: Working as an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, David Van Buren usually spends his time designing and building instruments for space telescopes or robots that will explore other worlds in our Solar System. But for the last month, Van Buren and a group of his colleagues at JPL have been working on a project that is truly unexplored terrain for them: making a ventilator to help patients sick with COVID-19. - PUB DATE: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Verge
Stunning footage shows a fleet of around 150 drones near Franklin Field in University City creating incredible displays in support of healthcare workers and first responders on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company behind it is called Verge Aero, which is based out of the University of Pennsylvania. - PUB DATE: 4/30/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTXF-TV FOX 29 Philadelphia
Some fire departments around the country are growing desperate for more personal protective equipment and funding to fully operate during this pandemic. While most departments in the D.C. area say they have what they need, some recognize the possibility of running out.
Some fire departments around the U. - PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WDVM-TV CBS 25 Hagerstown
The global curve is flattening, but COVID-19 (coronavirus) infections are still rising and new hotspots, like Brazil, may be emerging. That's a big improvement from weeks of dire, exponential growth across the world. But global or even U.S.-wide stats are difficult to parse when you're trying to figure out if the local situation in your town and state is getting better or worse. - PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Popular Mechanics
“She tried to do her job, and it killed her”: So said Dr. Philip Breen of his daughter, Dr. Lorna Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital — who died by suicide Sunday in Charlottesville, Va., where she was staying with family.
Her work amid the coronavirus pandemic took such a toll. - PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New York Post
Mattel is honoring essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight with a special edition #ThankYouHeroes collection from Fisher-Price.
The collection will include sixteen different figures that will be a selection of doctors, nurses, EMTs and delivery drivers. Mattel will also offer a special five-character Little People set that includes a grocery store worker figure. - PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: ABC News
John Legend is helping to pay tribute to the incredible first responders who are risking their lives everyday on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic. The Grammy-winning multi-talent will be sharing a special performance during May 1st's iHeartRadio's First Responder Fridays with FirstNet Built with AT&T. - PUB DATE: 4/29/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Fox Sports Radio
Medical investigators throughout the world are cooking up ideas that will hopefully put an end to COVID-19, sparing thousands of lives while bringing our old way of life back. (Maybe.) Count among them, investigators with the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, and the ideas they’re cooking up come right from the kitchen. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Infection Control Today
For the first time, a special type of COVID-19 test is available for first responders.
"First responders wake up every single day, and they are going out to communities and not knowing where they might be getting exposure to COVID-19," Christine Wiggs, with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, said. "We believe that providing them with antibody tests to understand whether they've been recently exposed is an important first step. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KASW-CW6 & KTVK-3TV (AZfamily.com)
Acadian Total Security is using existing technology in a new way to help stop the spread of coronavirus as businesses look to reopen.
“Thermal cameras have been used for quite a while. I’ll just give an example: a chemical plant. We’ve had cameras on a boiler where you want them to run at a certain temperature so you set a parameter saying 'if it reaches this temperature, I need to be alerted right away because something could be blowing soon if it’s too hot," Jason Brown, Director of Sales, said. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KPLC-TV NBC/CW+ 7 Lake Charles
Lime, the scooter company, is rolling out a new scooter service designed to help health care workers and first responders in the coronavirus pandemic.
Called Lime Aid, it provides free 30-minute rides for public-health personnel and law-enforcement officers, in select cities around the world. That includes Dallas and Austin, plus Baltimore, Nashville, Oklahoma City, and Salt Lake City, but also Paris, Cologne, and Tel Aviv. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Culture Map Dallas
The bulk of the diagnosed COVID-19 cases in Vermont are clustered in the Burlington area, home to some of the long-term care facilities that have seen outbreaks, but Hartford and Woodstock have also seen a notable number of cases.
The Vermont Department of Health on Monday released a town-by-town breakdown that showed Hartford had 10 COVID-19 cases and Woodstock 7. - PUB DATE: 4/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Valley News
According to the International Association of Fire Fighters, firefighters across the country are battling on the front lines of COVID-19 and fire departments are feeling the strain of this massive public health emergency.
The IAFF has released the following numbers as of Friday, April 24, 2020:
1,653 firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19;
4,304 isolated;
66 hospitalized;
Six deaths. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEYI-TV NBC 25 Saginaw
Parma Heights (International Association of Fire Fighters) IAFF Local 1690 recently filed an unfair labor practice charge with the State Employment Relations Board (SERB) related to the city’s attempt to unify pay periods across all departments.
Representing Parma Heights IAFF Local 1690 is Susannah Muskovitz and Arish S. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Cleveland.com
The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today said it will take heroism in Congress to save fire and EMS in communities across the country.
Legal and regulatory minutiae prevent CARES Act money from immediately helping firefighters protect their communities and themselves during the current COVID-19 crisis. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: IAFC.org
The new coronavirus doesn't care about a blue uniform or a shiny badge. Police, firefighters, paramedics and corrections officers are just a 911 call away from contracting COVID-19 and spreading it.
With N95 masks hanging off their duty belts and disposable blue gloves stuffed in their back pockets, they respond to radio calls, make arrests and manage prisoners. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Stamford Advocate
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released additional symptoms related to novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Health officials recommend those experiencing any of these symptoms contact their physician or the local health department. Previously, guidance from state and federal health officials cautioned people not to call unless experiencing the three traditional symptoms of COVID-19. - PUB DATE: 4/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Clarksville Now
VIDEO: Durham Fire-Rescue Hazardous Materials Team is leading the way in using new and existing equipment to decontaminate surfaces that may have been exposed to COVID-19.
Firefighters suit up in Tyvek hazmat gear to spray all surfaces with chlorine dioxide.
"Chlorine dioxide has been shown in multiple studies and by multiple federal agencies to kill the COVID-19 virus," said Ryan Campbell with the Durham Fire Department. - PUB DATE: 4/24/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WTVD ABC 11 Durham
