Nine firefighters are quarantining after one of them tested positive for coronavirus -- the first firefighter in Bristol reported to have contracted the virus.
Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu and Fire Chief Mark Flynn issued a joint statement Wednesday, announcing that the local firefighter had tested positive for covid-19. According to city officials, the firefighter’s significant other tested positive, which prompted the firefighter to get tested and quarantine.
Since the pandemic began, Bristol officials have been working with the Bristol-Burlington Health District when an employee tests positive to determine through contact tracing who had close, sustained contact with the employee. In this instance, eight other firefighters were determined to have had close contact with the infected individual. They are expected to quarantine for 14 days while they await their own test results.