Close to 200 Dallas police and fire workers are quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 as cases of the omicron variant surge, according to both departments Monday.
More than three-quarters of the infected first responders, 155, are Dallas Fire-Rescue workers. It’s the highest number of fire staff out at one time, said Jason Evans, a Fire-Rescue spokesman.
The department, for example, had 29 cases in July, 76 cases in August and 59 in September. The city began ordering mandatory testing of fire staff in August after cases increased in the summer.
Thirty-six police officers and eight civilian workers have tested positive for the virus so far this week, said police senior corporal Brian Martinez. He said 1,051 workers, including 881 officers, have caught the virus since March 2020.
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