On a normal day, the South Country Volunteer Ambulance Company would have seen only about eight calls. But on Wednesday at about 5 p.m., it was up to 13 — including two active calls that were COVID-19-related.
"So, we are experiencing an increase in call volume," said the agency's chief, Greg Miglino. "It's a mixture of people that have concerns about having COVID and people that actually have COVID symptoms that need to be treated in a hospital setting. They are legitimate calls in those cases. And even for the people that may not need a hospital stay, it's still legitimate because mentally they are concerned."
"We're seeing an across-the-board increase for a myriad of reasons at this time," he added.
Miglino, who also serves as the president of Suffolk's ambulance chiefs association, said that is also what is being related to him from his colleagues in emergency medical services.