3 Hialeah firefighters test positive for COVID-19, authorities say
Three Hialeah firefighters have tested positive for COVID-19, officials confirmed to the Miami Herald on Thursday.
Two received their test results on Wednesday, while the third firefighter was informed of a positive result on March 28. Two are asymptomatic and one is showing symptoms related to the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to Hialeah city council member Oscar De la Rosa.
All are quarantined at home, he said.
The Hialeah Fire Rescue department said every person who has had contact with any of the three officers was sent out to be tested for the virus. The department is taking precautions to clean all fire trucks after every call, and is decontaminating the station, said Hialeah Fire Capt. David Rodriguez.
All firefighters are being screened and asked to report any flu-symptoms, Rodriguez said.
“The city and union are working together hand in hand taking care of its first responders and residents,” Eric Johnson, president of the Hialeah firefighters’ union, said in a text message to the Herald.
Johnson said the three members who tested positive are employees who answer active calls for fire rescue. At least a dozen other tests at the department are still pending, he said.
The Hialeah mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Whenever firefighters are sent out, and obviously depending on the call that they receive, but if it’s a call that seems like there’s going to be a coronavirus case there.... they are given protective gear, masks, they have a face shield, they go completely head-to-toe covered,” De la Rosa said.
As of Thursday morning, the city of Hialeah reported 279 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the Florida Department of Emergency Management. Hialeah, one of the largest municipalities in the county, is listed as the fifth jurisdiction in Florida with the highest number of cases, below the city of Miami.
Hialeah declared a state of emergency on March 13, shutting down all public events in the city. On March 27, South Florida State Representative Cindy Polo, D-103, sent a letter to Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernández urging his government to take further measures to assist Hialeah’s elderly population amid the pandemic.
“It will be important to find ways to check in on our senior citizens in order to address and assess their needs and concerns,” Polo wrote.
Thursday was also the first official day of a free by-appointment testing site in Hialeah at Amelia Earhart Park. De la Rosa said that in the first 24 hours of the site’s opening, the city has received over 1,700 calls and the center is now booked for the next two weeks.
“It’s such an alarming number that my biggest concern are the amount of people that are carrying the disease without knowing it,” De la Rosa said. “I think it’s crucial that we see, at least in Hialeah, a complete lockdown.... for at least a couple of weeks.”
While the tests are for people over 65 and who are exhibiting symptoms, Miami-Dade County commissioner Esteban Bovo said younger people with symptoms may qualify.
Anyone who is interested in being tested is asked to call 305-COVID19 or 305-268-4319. De la Rosa said residents seeking to be tested can also call Bovo’s office at 305-820-8424.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 5:39 PM.
