About 100 Pittsburgh police officers are in quarantine as Public Safety tries to stop the spread of coronavirus through the ranks.
Pittsburgh Public Safety says the infections in police, fire and EMS are relatively low compared to like-sized cities, but officials are taking steps to make sure it does not get out of hand. Protecting the public while trying to protect themselves. That is the challenge facing police, fire and EMS — frontlines workers who run a greater risk of infection in close contact with the public while working together in tight quarters.
“You can’t have a small room with four to eight people in there for 12, 24, 36, 48 hours at a time and not have any air movement,” said Ralph Sicuro, fire union president.
One fire station house, in particular, has been the site of a coronavirus outbreak, with one member currently in the hospital making what Sicuro calls a slow but steady recovery. Meanwhile, Sicuro says emergency response times have not been hindered.