Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim is requesting coronavirus tests for first responders so those who are negative can return back to work as more than 2 dozen police officers and firefighters are quarantined for potential exposure.
City officials said Ganim is requesting access to serological COVID-19 tests for police, fire and EOC public safety officers so those who test negative can go back to work and respond to calls in the community.
The tests detect antibodies in a blood sample that would confirm or deny the presence of coronavirus. Results could be produced in as few as ten minutes, which would eliminate the need to quarantine first responders for 14 days, city officials said.
Currently, there are 11 city off-duty personnel from the police department and 22 from the fire department quarantined due to potential exposure, which could be work-related, personal or from family members, according to city officials.
"We cannot put our city in a potential position where emergency response is strained due to lack of personnel. It is critical that we secure testing for Bridgeport’s bravest and finest to ensure our public safety departments can efficiently and effectively respond," Ganim said in a statement.
The city said they plan to work with the state Department of Public Health to get serological coronavirus tests for first responders across the state.
