As they move into the vaccination stage of the coronavirus pandemic, public safety personnel in Bethlehem and Allentown have protected themselves well against COVID-19, figures show.
“From the very beginning the city emphasized to first responders and all employees that masking, hand washing, and hand sanitizing were important to protect themselves and their co-workers,” Allentown Mayor Ray O’Connell said via email. “I credit our employees for taking all the guidance seriously. No one wants to endanger their co-workers or bring it home to their families.”
In figures obtained by lehighvalleylive.com in recent weeks through Right-to-Know requests, Allentown police have had nine positive cases since the pandemic began, while the fire department had 11 and EMS personnel six. The police department has 215 employees, while the fire department has 128 and EMS has a total of 50 full and part time, the city said.
The police department had 76 members quarantined, while the fire department had 73 and EMS 42, figures show.
“We made sure as a city that we procured enough PPE and that everyone was educated on its proper use,” O’Connell said. “The city has strictly followed recommended protocols with possible exposures and testing and quarantining.”
The Bethlehem Police Department, which employs 154, had 14 positive tests and two quarantines, figures show. The fire department, which employs 110, had eight positives and two quarantines, and EMS, with 22 full time and 24 part time employees, had six positive tests and no quarantines, figures show.
Allentown public safety personnel had 6.6% positive rate, while Bethlehem was at 9%. The national average, which includes millions of people who don’t take on the high-risk contacts that public safety personnel must, is about 8.3%.
“Our department heads have stressed to our employees that in order to take care of others they need to take care of themselves as well and we have been very supportive and forward thinking of our personnel and their families throughout this pandemic,” O’Connell said.
Lehighvalleylive.com previously reported COVID-19 figures for public safety workers in Easton. Those figures showed that the city’s fire department has been hit particularly hard with COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic.
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Tony Rhodin can be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com.
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February 13, 2021 at 07:59PM
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Figures show COVID rates among Allentown, Bethlehem 1st responders have remained low - lehighvalleylive.com
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