While many employers are urging their staff to work from home, that just isn't a possibility for a handful of people -- including first responders.
That's why police and fire departments across the area are taking extra steps to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic. First responders say now is not the time to panic, but it is time to prepare.
Doing just that, dispatchers are now screening calls to learn whether a patient may have symptoms of the coronavirus before crews even arrive on the scene. This is now the first line to protecting the men and women who are protecting the public from the coronavirus. "They may tell the patient to isolate themselves until the EMS provider arrives. They may tell the patient if they have it to put on a mask," said Dr. Ben Weston with the Milwaukee County Office of Emergency Management.