Weekly IAFF COVID-19 Updates May 31

May 28 – IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger is quoted in today’s Washington Post story on the risk fire fighters and paramedics face without having the proper PPE they need during the coronavirus pandemic.

May 26 – Check out brand-new IAFF exercise guides, designed with the current environment in mind. More guides like these can be found in the Resources tab.

• Why Exercise Needs to Be a Part of the Mental Health Conversation
• Stay Healthy, Stay Active: Dos and Don’ts of Exercising On Shift During COVID-19
• Mobility Matters: Improve Your Mobility in Just 5 Minutes a Day
• Stay Connected During COVID-19

May 22 – Some states are starting to require fire fighters to assist with performing testing on residents in skilled nursing homes. These are hot zones and often the tasks are out of the scope of individuals’ training or practice. This testing guidance on best practices includes how to safely perform testing for both the nursing home residents and fire fighters.

May 20 – Until an effective vaccine is available, testing for COVID-19 can help slow the spread of the disease. Check out the new tab added to this resource page on COVID-19 Testing.

May 19 – With the significant health concerns related to COVID-19 and all the restrictions across the U.S. and Canada, the IAFF Executive Board on May 14, 2020, approved a motion to conduct the 2020 Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial ceremony without attendees, broadcasting it as a respectful virtual ceremony on September 19, 2020. We will still be engraving members’ names on our Wall of Honor this year and will note those etched on our Memorial during the virtual ceremony. All 2020 honoree families will be invited to attend the 2021 Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial where our fallen members will receive proper recognition along with those lost in 2020 at a traditional ceremony, with all families receiving their flag.