Doctors, scientists and epidemiologists have made strides in their research to learn what they can about SARS-CoV-2 and the illness it causes, COVID-19.
Multiple vaccines are in different stages of development as institutions scrutinize the effectiveness of existing drugs to treat coronavirus patients in clinical trials. - PUB DATE: 5/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: USA Today
The New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, with an assets-to-liabilities ratio of 63 percent, has enough money on hand to pay beneficiaries for 10.1 years, according to a new ranking of public retirement funds from the Wirepoints website.
The retirement system ranked 32nd on a list of 148 state and local retirement funds nationwide with at least $2 billion in assets, the website reported. - PUB DATE: 5/28/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Center Square
Police and firefighters weren’t forgotten when Congress passed a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package in March.
Within a week of the law’s enactment, aid began flowing to states and cities through the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, run by the Justice Department. Much of that aid goes to police departments across the country, which have received more than $143 million so far, according to a CQ Roll Call analysis of grant recipients. - PUB DATE: 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Roll Call
VIDEO: A tenacious fire fueled by an estimated 1,000 plastic crates containing tomato products burned for at least seven hours Tuesday in east Stockton, growing to five alarms as it sent a massive black plume of smoke into the clear morning air visible for miles in all directions.
No structures were involved and no injuries were reported at the Mizkan America tomato-processing plant known for its Ragu and Bertolli pasta sauces near the southwest corner of Waterloo Road and D Street. - PUB DATE: 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Record
New Hampshire was the first state to offer all first responders “hazard pay” bonuses for being on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But unlike Gov. Chris Sununu’s other relief initiatives, few states or the federal government have followed this one. And the $300-per-week bonuses for New Hampshire’s firefighters, police, EMS and corrections officers have drawn controversy. - PUB DATE: 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: New Hampshire Union Leader
Weeks after learning there is a federal Arizona-specific model, Arizona’s top public health official released the model in an online blog post on Tuesday.
Dr. Cara Christ posting in a blog post, that FEMA has authorized them to share the models publicly.
The report release May 7 has a number of graphs and data charts that are specific to Arizona. - PUB DATE: 5/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNXV-TV ABC 15 Phoenix
A huge fire that tore through a warehouse on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf has destroyed fishing gear used to deliver about two-thirds of the city’s fresh seafood, threatening to disrupt the upcoming Dungeness crab season, local fishermen said Sunday.
The fire erupted before dawn Saturday and wiped out the warehouse the size of a football field near the end of Pier 45. - PUB DATE: 5/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KNTV NBC 11 San Jose
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold, Iowa's first responders say the state should no longer hold off on declaring Emergency Medical Services an essential service.
That status is something EMS workers in Iowa have sought long before COVID-19. Being declared "essential" would require ambulance service across the state, instead of relying on a patchwork of volunteers, agencies and providers. - PUB DATE: 5/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Public News Service
VIDEO: A fire truck, adorned with a large American flag, tipped over shortly before 11:30 a.m. Monday in Plumstead Township, Bucks County.
The view from Chopper 6 showed the truck on its side in a parking lot. The extended ladder was on the ground, stretched across the roadway in the area 4040 Ferry Road. - PUB DATE: 5/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPVI-TV ABC 6 Philadelphia
The spread of the novel coronavirus has not slowed in 24 states, according to a new model by Imperial College London that forecasts infection spikes as more people travel and leave their homes in the coming weeks.
Why it matters: Nearly every state across the U.S. has taken steps to reopen their economies partially or completely, including some regions and industries that are deemed "low-risk" for spreading the virus, per a New York Times analysis. - PUB DATE: 5/26/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: AXIOS
National EMS Week is an annual event throughout the United States which celebrates and recognizes the hard work that all EMS providers do on a daily basis – from emergency medical technicians (EMTs) up to paramedics. These EMS providers can be paid, volunteer or a both (but at different agencies). No matter what the level, just remember that this person made a conscious decision to help someone in need, even while putting themselves (and/or their loved ones) at increased risk. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Journal of Emergency Medical Services
Jeremy Emerich, a critical care EMT on the ground for Lehigh Valley Health Network’s MedEvac, died Thursday following a battle with COVID-19, friends and coworkers said on social media.
Emerich was also a U.S. Armed Forces veteran and an active firefighter in Fleetwood, the Berks County community where he lived with his companion, Shana Konek. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: LehighValleyLive.com
For decades, the backbone of the nation’s disaster response system — and a hallmark of American generosity — has been its army of volunteers who race toward danger to help shelter, feed and counsel victims of hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a critical weakness in this system: Most volunteers are older people at higher risk from the virus, so this year they can’t participate in person. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The New York Times
The McKinney Fire Department will be at Belterra Health and Rehab on Friday morning, testing 200 residents and staff members for the novel coronavirus in an effort to curb its spread.
This is the first testing related to Governor Greg Abbot’s Strike Force Plan to Open Texas, according to the department. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Dallas Morning News
In new guidance for mathematical modelers and public health officials, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is estimating that about a third of coronavirus infections are asymptomatic.
The CDC also says its "best estimate" is that 0.4% of people who show symptoms and have COVID-19 will die, and the agency estimates that 40% of coronavirus transmission is occurring before people feel sick. - PUB DATE: 5/22/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CNN
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday, May 20, that he backs a bill moving its way through the Assembly that would make it a crime for first responders in California to take photos of dead bodies at emergency sites unless for an investigation.
Assembly Bill 2655 would make it a misdemeanor for police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, paramedics and other emergency personnel responding to disasters to take such photos. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: San Gabriel Valley Tribune
VIDEO: Six homes were destroyed early Thursday morning in a roaring apartment fire in Tomball.
The fire started around 4 a.m. at the Cobble Creek Apartments on Lawrence Street near Medical Complex Drive. Tomball police officers helped neighbors evacuate the building as flames tore through the roof, firefighters said. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Courier
The fear is still there, but some first responders have somewhat mastered coping with that fear of COVID-19.
“You push it back so that you can maintain your mission,” Parma firefighter and department spokesperson T.J. Martin said.
But the fear of unknowingly carrying the virus is hard to ignore. Martin says no one on his team has tested positive, but it would be comforting to know for sure. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WEWS-TV ABC 5 Cleveland
VIDEO: The more than 20,000 paramedics, EMTs and 911 dispatchers in Massachusetts were honored Wednesday as part of National EMS Week as a large convoy of ambulances traveled from Worcester to Boston.
The "Convoy of Champions" set off from UMass Memorial Medical Center about 1:15 p.m. and made the 40-mile drive in about an hour, with a state police escort and a UMass Medical Life Flight helicopter. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WBTS-TV NBC 10 Boston
As the world continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of focus has been on the health risks to healthcare workers due to the infectiousness of the virus and the insufficient amount of personal protective equipment (PPE) available.
However, another health risk to these providers that is just starting to get attention are the physical and mental health effects from their constant exposure to the trauma of this disaster. - PUB DATE: 5/21/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: In Public Safety
