BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Twenty-nine firefighters in Melbourne and Palm Bay are off the job on COVID-19-related quarantine, and they await negative test results to return to work, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
At Melbourne Fire Station 74, two firefighters became ill at different times, triggering quarantines that began on July 1 and July 3, city spokeswoman Cheryl Mall said. Because they work together in close quarters, 18 firefighters are now on quarantine.
Fire Station 74 is located at the intersection of Hickory Street and Hibiscus Boulevard. Mall said the quarantines have not impacted firefighting service because other personnel are working overtime. Fire station lobbies are closed to the public.
Palm Bay Fire Rescue has eight positive coronavirus cases, with three other people in quarantine, city spokeswoman Keely Leggett said.
All Palm Bay personnel who have tested positive — as well as those who were in direct contact with a positive individual — must submit two negative test results before returning to work, Leggett said. The city’s human resources department also is conducting contact tracing.
Inside Palm Bay City Hall, employees in the revenue division are working from home this week because of a possible COVID-19 exposure.
Five people work in revenue, which is a division of the finance department. The revenue division handles alarm registrations, business tax receipts, lien requests and passport applications. These functions now are being performed via email and phone.
The city of Palm Bay employs 839 people. As of Wednesday, there had been 19 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases among city staffers, with an additional 14 employees under precautionary quarantine due to possible viral exposure. Leggett said there have been no critical service disruptions or staffing difficulties associated with COVID-19.
During Tuesday's Cocoa Beach City Commission meeting, Fire Chief Ryan Duckworth said three first responders had tested positive for the coronavirus within the past 12 days.
Duckworth said eight other employees and administrative personnel — including City Manager Jim McKnight — underwent two rounds of tests, on July 2 and July 5. All tested negative for COVID-19.
“We are trying to be diligent in that, as far as making sure we’re protecting the employees,” McKnight told commissioners.
Two other Cocoa Beach city employees had tested positive within the past dozen days, one from the golf course and one from public works, McKnight said.
To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter and go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.