First responders adjusting protocols to deal with virus
As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, first responders across Western Pennsylvania and the entire state are discussing and implementing new procedures to serve their communities while also guarding themselves against infection.
At a news conference Friday morning, Pittsburgh Public Safety Director Wendell Hissrich, police Chief Scott Schubert, Emergency Medical Services Chief Ron Romano and Assistant EMS Chief Mark Pinchalk convened to update the public on new protocols for first responders.
“We want to reassure the public that we’re out there and that we’ll help whenever we can,” Chief Schubert said.
They also addressed how they might deal with Gov. Tom Wolf’s call for mandatory shutdowns of many small businesses, expressing frustration that they had to learn about the order through the news media Thursday night.
Mr. Hissrich and the chiefs said all branches of the city’s Public Safety Department are working together to balance their duties while keeping themselves as safe as possible.
For police and firefighters, that means limiting the amount of exposure between personnel and the
public in nonemergency situations.
Mr. Hissrich said that although there will be no change in responses to fires, critical medical calls and alarms, Pittsburgh firefighters will be excluded from certain
nonemergency medical calls in favor of an assessment team if exposure to the virus is a possibility.
According to Chief Schubert, Pittsburgh police will increase the use of telephone reporting units for minor crimes, such as traffic complaints or harassment, and will discourage people from coming to police stations.
Chief Schubert said these units will be available 24/7 and that officers will be available for in-person follow-ups.
Likewise, Chief Romano said EMS workers will implement procedures to assess people over the phone who believe they may have contracted the virus, so as to limit the amount of nonemergency cases taken to hospitals.
If callers have mild symptoms or are otherwise healthy, it will be recommended that they stay home, Chief Romano said.
“Transporting low-risk patients to the hospital with mild symptoms has multiple negative consequences in the current situation,” he said. “It ties up limited EMS resources, and it potentially [exposes] patients and others to the virus.”
EMS workers are also being outfitted with more protective equipment, like N95 respirator masks, gloves and goggles, and new protocols will restrict who is allowed to ride in ambulances with patients.
“If someone can get a ride to the hospital on their own with a private vehicle, that’s what we’re going to recommend,” Chief Romano said.
Local and state authorities in Western Pennsylvania are implementing similar plans to deal with the effects of the virus in the coming weeks and months.
The Ross Township Police Department will restrict access to its station and take more complaints over the phone, Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp said. He added that additional face masks, gloves and goggles will be provided for officers if needed and that contact with potentially infected people will be curbed.
“We’re coordinating with the fire department and EMS to reduce standard police presence at EMS calls, to lower the risk to officers,” Sgt. Kohlhepp said.
The McKeesport Police Department said in a statement that it is also handling reports of minor crimes and information requests over the phone and is discouraging walk-ins at its station.
The statement also said fingerprinting services in McKeesport will be suspended indefinitely but that emergency calls will continue to be responded to promptly and “in a manner appropriate to the emergency.”
In Erie, police will similarly take reports of almost all minor crimes over the phone and will dispatch officers for a follow-up only if necessary.
The department said it has stocked extra cleaning supplies to inhibit the spread of the virus and is in regular contact with their local health officials.
While not currently mandating that nonemergency complaints be handled over the phone, Uniontown Police Lt. Thomas Kolencik said his department is also no longer allowing walkins. He noted that they’re encouraging officers to maintain social-distancing guidelines and to wash their hands as frequently as possible.
Meanwhile, state police have set up an Incident Command System to lead the agency’s COVID-19 response, including what may happen if staffing shortages arise from the virus. That could include assigning troopers to short-handed stations or changing response protocols for nonemergency calls, spokesperson Ryan Tarkowski said.
As of Thursday afternoon, the agency said none of the more than 4,200 state troopers has tested positive for the virus.
Federal law enforcement has also been impacted, with many local agencies allowing agents and employees to work remotely if possible.
The FBI, which has about 130 agents covering Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia, said in a statement Friday that it is in regular contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of Personnel Management and other federal agencies to take a comprehensive approach to potential COVID19 scenarios. Among those are agencies cracking down on fraud related to the virus, for which the U.S. attorney’s office and the state attorney general Thursday set up a special task force.
Yet despite the consistent reports of preparedness from authorities and first responders, an emergency on this scale can still lead to confusion and miscommunication.
At the news conference Friday, Chief Schubert said his department had no prior warning of Mr. Wolf’s order for “non-life-sustaining” businesses to close Thursday night.
“Like many people, we saw it on the news last night,” Chief Schubert said. “We have not had the level of communication that I think a lot of us on the law enforcement side wish we would have had.”
Ross police Sgt. Kohlhepp said his department was also blindsided by the news.
When asked how his department plans to to enforce the closures, Sgt. Kohlhepp noted that “at this point, there is no answer to that question.”
Yet both Sgt. Kohlhepp and Chief Schubert both said their departments will get in contact with more departments in the Pittsburgh area to coordinate their responses to Mr. Wolf’s order, as well as other developments regarding the virus.
“We understand that there is a lot of fear out there, but we’re from Pittsburgh,” Chief Schubert said. “We’re Pittsburgh strong, and we’ll get through this together.”