Pierce County’s emergency call center confirms coronavirus outbreak among employees
A COVID-19 outbreak has been reported at Pierce County’s emergency dispatch center.
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported Thursday 17 COVID-19 cases at the South Sound 911 Center where emergency dispatchers take 911 calls.
Fifteen of the 17 have been deemed recent cases. The other two have been reported at some point throughout the pandemic.
Kris McNamar is the emergency communications center’s community relations manager. She confirmed that 15 employees tested positive for COVID-19 in the law enforcement communications center.
The first positive was reported in late July, she said. Eight of the reported cases were dispatchers, six were communication officers who answer 911 and non-emergency numbers and one was a support officer who answers non-emergency numbers.
South Sound 911’s law enforcement communications center staffs about 130 full-time employees, according to its website. Dispatchers answer more than 900,000 emergency calls each year for officers from 19 law enforcement agencies.
Asked about any impacts in emergency response, McNamar said, “While summer is our busy time of year and we are actively recruiting to fill vacancies, the storm is nearly weathered. Most of the affected employees returned to work today, and others will return over the weekend or early next week. “
The outbreak has not led to longer dispatch times, McNamar said.
“We’ve been able to backfill,” she said in an email.
The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries confirmed there was at least one complaint from the 911 center regarding the outbreak. The complaint alleges the facility does not enforce its COVID-19 masking policies, spokesperson Tim Church said.
”We are gathering some preliminary information now to learn more,” Church said in an email.
McNamar said the emergency call center has adopted measures like a mandated mask policy, frequent hand-washing and sanitation of surfaces, use of UV light keyboard sanitizers and acrylic barriers between employees.
The center is also consulting with the health department and coordinated vaccine opportunities, McNamar said.
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 3:26 PM.
