All Mecklenburg EMS workers will wear masks on 911 calls, 19 employees are in quarantine
Mecklenburg County’s EMS Agency will soon instruct all medics to wear surgical masks when interacting with patients on 911 calls.
The agency has 19 employees quarantining due to COVID-19 symptoms as of Tuesday, said Medic Deputy Director Jon Studnek.
Medic reported its first COVID-19 case in an employee last week. That case is still Medic’s only positive case, Studnek said Tuesday.
A paramedic in Cabarrus County has tested positive for COVID-19, Cabarrus officials announced Tuesday. The employee completed their last shift on Friday and noticed symptoms later that day, according to Cabarrus County.
Mecklenburg’s new mask protocol will begin Thursday. The agency received a new shipment of surgical masks Tuesday to prepare for the increased use, Studnek said.
Medic already instructs employees to wear surgical masks on potential COVID-19 patients, and N95 masks when interacting with patients who fit the field screening for COVID-19. The screening for potential symptoms begins with the 911 dispatcher call center.
Studnek said Medic has sufficient supplies of surgical masks and N95 masks. But the agency could see a shortage of medical gowns, Studnek said.
“Today, and any day, our employees are on the front line of healthcare,” Studnek said. “The job is not always as safe as we would like it to be. Being able to protect them, get them the equipment they need so that they can be out in the community serving the citizens in Mecklenburg County is super important to us.”
The Mecklenburg agency has referred a total of 12 employees for COVID-19 testing, Studnek said. At one point, the agency had 25 employees in quarantine, but some have since recovered.
Medic has seen a decrease in activity in the last few weeks, which Studnek said could mean social distancing efforts are working. Medic saw ambulance transports decrease by 25% in the month of March — or roughly 100 fewer transports a day.
“The stay-at-home orders are working,” he said. “… And that is really a benefit to the community — to see people not getting out and about is really going to help us combat this pandemic.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 6:30 AM.
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