8 Gulfport firefighters test positive for COVID-19. First two ‘were asymptomatic.’
Eight Gulfport firefighters have tested positive for COVD-19 at two stations north of Interstate 10 on Dedeaux Road, Fire Chief Mike Beyerstedt said Monday.
The positive tests came in the last week after two firefighters caught the new coronavirus from friends while they were off-duty, the chief said.
After the initial positive cases cases came back, other firefighters who had been in contact with those two were tested.
“They didn’t know they had it,” Beyerstedt said of the new cases. “They were asymptomatic.”
One of the eight firefighters had to be hospitalized over night but has since recovered and returned to duty, the chief said.
The other seven firefighters are quarantined at home while they fight the virus.
“Everybody is wearing masks,” Beyerstedt said. “Even in the fire station, they have to wear masks. We are testing anybody that has coronavirus exposure.”
In addition, Gulfport’s fire stations are being disinfected daily to prevent the first responders from contracting the virus.
“Everything is decontaminated,” he said.
As of July 11, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported a total of 35,419 cases and 1,230 deaths.
Of those, Harrison and Jackson counties are among the counties statewide that have seen the highest incidence of case per 100,000 people in the one-week period ending July 5.
The two counties are among 11 others in the state facing new guidelines from Gov. Tate Reeve’s most-recent executive order that says residents should wear masks or face coverings at public gatherings and while shopping.
