Santa Clara County Public Health officials issued a shelter-in-place order to mitigate the risk of catching the coronavirus, but not everyone can afford to follow this ordinance.
Among them are first responders – emergency medical technicians, firefighters and police officers.
Within their normal routines, patrol officers, firefighters, EMTs and other first responders interact with the general public often.
Because of this threat, Santa Clara County police departments, fire departments and emergency medical services are taking precautions to keep employees and the public safe during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The first responders throughout Santa Clara County are such a valuable part of serving the public,” the Santa Clara County Public Information Office stated in an email.
The county is prioritizing coronavirus testing for critical personnel so first responders who test negative can get back in the field, according to the email.
Those who test positive are prioritized for treatment.
Law enforcement officers will have personal protective kits – masks, gloves and disinfectant supplies. According to an email from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s office, this equipment will be on hand for patrols and available within jails.
Gina Di Napoli, San Jose State University Police Department chief of police, said officers and cadets alike will have enough sanitation gear on hand for themselves and anyone they apprehend.
Di Napoli also said officers making arrests will not be sent in as a group to help prevent the spread of the virus, and that if they encounter people with symptoms, arresting officers will wear gloves and masks.
In a news conference Friday Edgardo Garcia, San Jose Police Department chief, pointed out that officers are no strangers to the risk of catching communicable diseases in the line of duty, and that officers who are symptomatic will be tested for COVID-19.
The San Jose Fire Department is making similar efforts to avoid contracting the virus and are equipped with their own personal protective equipment consisting of gloves, masks, goggles
and gowns.
Because firefighters eat, train and live together while on duty, practicing social distancing can be difficult. But while they are out in the community, firefighters will practice social distancing, according to the SJFD Public Information Office.
Though the SJFD said it is following special communicable disease response guidelines, they declined to state the specifics of those guidelines.
“Generally speaking, there are safety practices that guide our response when handling communicable diseases such as the current COVID-19 pandemic,” Erica Ray, SJFD public information officer, stated in an email.
During the news conference, Garcia and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo asked people to do their part during the pandemic.
Liccardo also urged people to stay indoors in compliance with the shelter-in-place order.
“It’s important for all of us to stay home because it takes the pressure off our first responders to be out there, having to interact with folks,” Liccardo said.
He also asked people to report anyone who they feel may be violating the shelter-in-place order.
Garcia encouraged nonessential businesses to stay closed during the shelter-in-place order and to that end, he said SJPD will be deploying “compliance cars,” officially known as Help Order Compliance Cars.
These compliance cars are tasked with looking for businesses staying open and informing them why they should close down, giving them a chance to voluntarily comply with the order.
But starting this week, they may be switching from a stance of education to enforcement.
“Those of you that know me, we’re not gonna stay educational for long if people aren’t paying attention to this,” Garcia said.
Businesses that continue to defy the health order run the risk of criminal citation, health order violations and business license sanctions. However, Garcia noted that violators will not be detained.
