Firefighters Monitored After Patient Diagnosed With COVID-19

GILROY, CA — The City of Gilroy is currently evaluating all city programs and public events to ensure compliance with the latest recommendations from the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, after firefighters treated a person Thursday who later tested positive for coronavirus, Gilroy police said Saturday.

The Gilroy firefighters have shown no coronavirus symptoms and are being allowed to return to work while being monitored on a daily basis for the next 14 days, police said.

Gilroy firefighters on Thursday went on a medical call for a resident experiencing chest pains.

The patient was taken to Kaiser Hospital Santa Teresa in San Jose for treatment.

It was there that the patient was later confirmed to have Novel coronavirus.

That patient as of Saturday was being treated according to Santa Clara County Department of Public Health protocol, police said.

While Gilroy firefighters took measures to minimize potential exposure before treating that patient, police said, the Gilroy Fire Department has been working closely with the county health department, the Santa Clara County EMS Agency and the CDC as part of standard protocol to monitor the firefighters who were potentially exposed to coronavirus.

Officials announced in a statement on Gilroy’s Government Facebook page on Saturday evening that the city would provide guidance and more information on Monday afternoon.

“Out of an abundance of caution the City is currently evaluating all City programs and public events to ensure compliance with the latest recommendations from the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health and CDC,” the statement said.

Patch editor Gideon Rubin and Bay City News contributed to this report.

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