SEATTLE — EMTs with American Medical Response Seattle are reportedly upset they were not notified they were transporting someone who was possibly infected with coronavirus.
AMR reportedly said the patient did not have the virus, now known as COVID-19, but the entire incident is raising questions in the medical community why the county alerted AMR the patient was possibly infected but word never made it to the first responders.
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KING-TV reports several AMR employees took to a closed Facebook group over the weekend complaining of the communication breakdown.
An AMR representative told the station: “AMR Seattle has not transported any patients with the Novel Coronavirus. As part of our clinical procedures, we continue to educate and monitor our crews and dispatchers to ensure protocols are being followed.”
Dispatchers told the EMTs to leave a mask on the patient’s door and ride in the back of the ambulance alone. The patient, who has not been identified, was taken to a King County motel about an hour away from Seattle for observation.
The medics stopped to put on protective gear for the transport on their own accord, according to the report. They also decontaminated the rig after transporting the patient.
