PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia Fire Department paramedics and EMTs answer thousands of calls on a normal day. But during this pandemic, their job has become more challenging.
Fire service paramedic Michael Shanks and his partner EMT Richard Thomas work at Medic 5, which is based at Engine 39 in Roxborough. For every call they get, Shanks said, they have to treat everyone as if they have COVID-19.
"You don't know who has it. The symptoms are not always there. Some people have it and it is obvious symptoms versus people who don't have any symptoms but it could be contagious, so we are treating everyone as though they have it,” he explained.
Thomas said it’s a constant concern.
"You never know if you are going into the house with it on your body. So I try to take everything off when I go in the house because I have little kids and my wife and I don't want to get anyone sick,” he said.
Shanks said they have rolled up on calls where people seem ashamed they have COVID-19.
“They have other symptoms. You still have your chest pain and abdominal pain and underneath all of that, ‘Oh by the way I got tested for COVID’ and that comes out later that they tested positive. Telling us that up front, at least we know,” he said.
They’ve also been getting calls asking for rapid testing kits on the medic unit, which they don’t have. And both Shanks and Thomas want to remind people that the ER is not the best place to get tested.
And while medics are always prepared, they say it’s helpful if people let the dispatcher know if there is a possibility of COVID-19.
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