VIDEO: First responders may be the first medical professionals to contact a coronavirus patient. They depend on information in advance to make sure they're protected.
We are used to seeing medical professionals coping with Coronavirus in a lab, or hospital---a more predictable, controlled environment. But when ambulance crews rush to help someone in trouble, it's harder to maintain tight infection controls.
When Tucson Fire crews run on a medical call they depend on 911 operators to ask if someone's coughing, if they have a fever. They collect as much information as they can before the ambulance arrives, so paramedics and EMTs know if they need more than their usual protection when they're close to the patient.
Tucson Fire Deputy Chief Darin Wallentine says, “We will wear eye protection.