Trumbull County 911 workers test positive for COVID-19

Coronavirus is having an impact on all facets of life and it seems nobody is immune with staffing now impacted at the Trumbull 911 Center.
The dispatch center is equipped to handle the needs of more than 200,000 people in the county along with cell phone calls from nearby Interstate 80.
Now with three employees at the center with positive COVID-19 results and others waiting for tests results, a plan has been put in place to make sure thousands of people still have the first contact available in an emergency situation
With Trumbull county elevated back to level red for COVID, having 9-11 dispatchers off the job could not come at a worse time.
"WE WERE SHORT STAFFED THERE AND WE WANT TO HIRE A COUPLE MORE THIS KIND OF PUTS US IN A SITUATION FOR AT LEAST THE NEXT 14 DAYS MAKES IT PRETTY DIFFICULT," said Trumbull County Commissioner, Frank Fuda
Howland's Fire Chief, Jim Pantolone, is also the incident commander for EMA in Trumbull county.
"CERTAINLY, IT WILL BE A STRAIN ON THEIR CURRENT STAFF IN EXTENDED HOURS AND OVERTIME TO COVER THOSE TIMES WITH INDIVIDUALS SITTING WAITING FOR A TEST TO COME BACK OR EXTENDED QUARANTINE."
Pantalone says the situation is also being closely monitored by the health department.
"THEY ARE ON TOP OF BACK TRACING AND CONTACT TRACING AND MONITORING INDIVIDUALS VIA TEXT MESSAGING WITH THEM THAT ARE IN QUARANTINE FOR SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS AND WHAT IS DEVELOPING."
911 Director Ernie Cook says there have been no service disruptions and if need be they have dispatchers in training would step in for call answering.
Should the 911 center require a deep cleaning, service could be diverted to the EMA center.