Even the San Francisco Fire Department is not immune to the current surge of omicron inundating the Bay Area.
As of Wednesday, there were up to 60 current cases of COVID-19 this month out of 1,788 employees, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle. Of those 60, at least 40 are active, the paper reported.
About 98% of the department's staff is fully vaccinated, but positive cases have been popping up at stations throughout San Francisco, the paper reported.
"Omicron is everywhere, and we've been pushing hard for all of our employees, including firefighters, to get vaccinated, and more recently, to get the booster shot if they're eligible," said Mawuli Tugbenyoh, the chief of policy for San Francisco's human resources department in an interview with the paper.
The increase in positive cases within the department has led to other staff working overtime to fill in the gaps.
"It is complicating our already dire staffing shortages," Shon Buford, president of the firefighters union, told the paper in an interview. "It’s just been a mental and physical strain on our firefighters, who are being asked to go above and beyond during the holidays, and it’s taking them away from their families."
But the department's operations have not been affected by the rise in positive cases, Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a fire department spokesperson, told the paper.
SFFD did not respond to KCBS Radio's request for comment at the time of publication.
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