East Lake Norman News

COVID-19 has changed the way 911 agents and emergency medical services personnel handle emergency calls.

In Iredell, Emergency Communications 911 agents will now ask callers whether they are experiencing fever-like symptoms or if they have been in close contact with a person that has contracted coronavirus.

If a caller tells a 911 agent they had the virus in the past 14 days or have experienced an undiagnosed lung ailment, Iredell EMS workers will respond to the emergency with extra personal protection equipment, the Mooresville Tribune reported in late April.

For the past 15 years, Angela Hobbs, training officer and paramedic for Iredell EMS A Shift, has responded to emergency calls, but now when she's dispatched to an emergency, Hobbs told the Mooresville Tribune, she will wear eye protective gear and gowns, in addition to the typical gloves and masks, if the patient is exhibiting signs of having the coronavirus.

Hobbs told the Mooresville Tribune, she and other EMS personnel are taking extra precautions, to keep themselves and their patients safe, such as checking their temperatures at the beginning of each shift, wiping down ambulance stretchers, changing the bedding between patients and thoroughly cleaning their ambulances

“We’re using a cleaner specifically aimed at the virus,” Hobbs told the Mooresville Tribune.

EMS crews are adhering to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines when cleaning the ambulances, according to the Mooresville Tribune. 

Even with the extra steps being taken to prevent the spread of the virus, Blair Richey, Iredell EMS director, told the Mooresville Tribune, the amount of 911 calls coming in have declined since the pandemic began. 

Richey worries it could be due to people being afraid of contracting the virus, but she wants to assure the public that EMS workers are taking all the precautions necessary to keep themselves and people in their care safe, according to the Mooresville Tribune.

Despite safety precautions, paramedics in nearby Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Mooresville Tribune.