The Redmond first responders who were placed under quarantine are scheduled to be released this week. After 14 days of quarantine, six of the seven medics are symptom-free and ready to go back to work.
“Presumably, as long as they continue to maintain their level of health that they’re currently at, the schedule will stick in place,” Jim Whitney, medical services officer for Redmond, said. “As of [March 6], We’ll have six that have cleared quarantine.”
One medic is being tested for COVID-19 due to continued symptoms.
According to Whitney, the medic was tested for COVID-19 March 3 but due to undetermined complications with Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) labs, the results for the initial test never returned, forcing an additional test to be administered March 8.
“He’s doing better,” Whitney said. “But we want to make sure that he’s completely clear of his illness before we bring him back to work and put him in a place where he’s responding to calls within the community,”
Redmond Medic One provides cardiac and advanced life support for all of Northeast King County. That includes a medic unit at EvergreenHealth Medical Center, which has routinely responded to calls at the Life Care Center of Kirkland — where the COVID-19 outbreak started.
“[The medic unit] responded several times during the two weeks leading up to the discovery of COVID-19,” Whitney said. “We put all of those medics that had been responding in and out of that location on quarantine.”
The first two medics were released from quarantine March 10, and if health levels remain high, two more medics will be released March 11 as well as two more on March 13.
“[Station 13] is still a quarantine location and that individual will be coming out of that space early Friday morning,” Whitney said. “If we can have all the cleaning and decontamination of the facility done in time, the intent is to have that station back in service operational at 7 a.m. Saturday morning.”
A Redmond police officer was quarantined due to secondary exposure. The officer’s spouse, a Kirkland police officer, was exposed to the virus while responding to a call at Life Care. Both officers have been under quarantine for the 14-day period and are scheduled to release this week as well.
