The new test site offered an opportunity first responders hadn’t had before: There, they can get tested even if they don’t have symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Most local police and fire agencies are relying on CDC guidelines, which rate asymptomatic heath workers and first responders a lower priority, only to be tested “[a]s resources allow." And tests have been in short supply nationwide.
Orlando firefighters who experience symptoms are required to call a hotline, which tells them when and where they’ll be tested, spokeswoman Ashley Papagni said. In Orange County, rescuers are placed on a two-day administrative leave upon having symptoms, during which they “must seek medical attention" and get a screening, spokeswoman Carrie Proudfit said.
Across the region, at least 30 first-responders are self-quarantining, either because they were in contact with a person who later tested positive for COVID-19, or they tested positive themselves.
Ron Glass, president of the International Association of Firefighters union local that represents Orlando firefighters, said first responders are cognizant of the limited availability of tests, which makes routine testing of police and firefighters implausible and not recommended.
Asked if OFD Chief Benjamin Barksdale thinks testing available to first responders is adequate, agency spokeswoman Ashley Papagni said, "At this point, we are working with our local health care providers to ensure we have the testing available as we need it.”
U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, is working to get more testing kits for Orlando-area first responders. He discussed the need for more tests with local public safety agencies on a conference call this week.
“We have not been given a specific number from [Orlando Fire Department] but are doing all we can to work with [Health and Human Services] and [Florida Division of Emergency Management] to get them as many COVID-19 test as available," said Clarissa Rojas, a spokeswoman for Soto.
Once obtained, the tests would be sent to HHS and FDEM, which would disperse them to local agencies, Rojas said.
Experts give differing opinions about whether first responders should be tested proactively.
Dr. Preeti Malani, an infectious disease expert and the chief health officer at the University of Michigan, said the testing approach OFD and other Central Florida agencies are using falls in line with how most doctors are choosing who to test: only those who feel ill.
Even if there were more resources, determining how often to test first responders could be a challenge, as the period of time between exposure and the virus being detectable by a swab hasn’t been definitively determined. In a patient with no symptoms, “you probably wouldn’t have enough virus for the test to be positive,” Malani said.
“I would not test someone who was exposed and doesn’t have any symptoms, and the reason is, frankly, that the test probably wouldn’t work that well,” Malani said. “...This whole notion of asymptomatic spread is not fully understood, but it is not as simple as you just walk by someone and they spread it to you.”
Dr. John McDonough, a professor at the University of North Florida who authored a book on epidemiology for nurses, said he wishes everyone would get tested.
“The last thing you want is somebody who is not sheltering in place who’s running around interacting with people because they have to do it as part of their job to be positive and not know it,” McDonough said. “... The only way to stop an epidemic is to find the people who are sick before they know they are sick, and isolate them.”
While people should continue to act as if they are contagious, Malani said the risk of a first responder spreading the virus while not showing symptoms and wearing protective equipment is “not zero, but it’s low.”
The protective gear, like N-95 masks, gloves, gowns and glasses, can help to minimize the risk by reducing the spread of respiratory droplets believed to be the cause of transmission. The person being arrested or transported to the hospital should be wearing a mask, too.
While some medical workers in the most hard-hit cities across the country are experiencing a shortage of protective equipment, Glass said the gear is in good supply here for first responders.
Rojas also pointed to provisions in the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package, expected to soon become law, that provide billions of dollars in grants for emergency responders to purchase protective equipment.
But as the number of cases grow throughout the region, so does the possibility that more first responders will be placed on a 14-day quarantine, which is recommended by most agencies for personnel who come in contact with a person who later tests positive.
In Orlando, eight firefighters and six police officers — one of whom has tested positive for COVID-19 — are staying home from work. Spokespeople said none of the employees have shown symptoms.
Orlando police Chief Orlando Rol\u00f3n said an officer’s “medical evaluation determines the need for testing or not.”
“Currently, we ask our personnel to get checked by a medical professional when they feel ill and [it] is not associated with work,” he said in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel. “If it is work-related we can ask for them to be tested, but ultimately it is up to a physician to determine that.”
In Orange County, 15 firefighters are self-quarantining, including one who has tested positive for COVID-19. One deputy has also tested positive.
The threat of being understaffed while employees stay home from work, not knowing if they’re carrying the virus, could lead to more regular testing if the resources are available, Glass said.
“That’s something we might look for in the future to say ‘OK, they’ve been quarantined for three days, let’s see if we can get them a test now, so we can get them back to work quicker,'" he said.
Malani said medical workers are experiencing the same issue across the country, which has led them to put more focus on maintaining good hand hygiene and wearing the right protective gear.
“Even like a week ago it was like, if you were exposed, you need to be quarantined, but we’re going to get to the point where everybody’s going to be quarantined and nobody’s going to be able to take care of anyone," she said.
Staff writers Katie Rice, Grace Toohey and Crist\u00f3bal Reyes contributed.
tsheets@orlandosentinel.com
———
©2020 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)
Visit The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.) at www.OrlandoSentinel.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
