LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio — First responders exposed to the coronavirus in Lucas County are being tested; that's the message Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and officials with the Toledo Fire department want to send. This comes after mixed messaging on whether if there are enough tests in the city for those who protect community.
Here's how the protocol works: If any Toledo police and/or firefighter is exposed to the coronavirus, they are directed to the HWO, which is a local council made up of firefighters and other medical professionals.
"And then through consultation and trace back and following a flow chart they came up with, they decide if that first responder needs to go in for testing," said Battalion Fire Chief Matthew Brixey with Toledo Fire and Rescue.
Right now with the way the system works, only first responders who are exposed and showing symptoms of the virus are being tested.
"That test really doesn't work if you are asymptomatic. Just because you don't have symptoms and you're administered that test doesn't mean you won't develop symptoms. It just means you don't have enough virus in your body right now to show a positive," said Brixey.
As of Friday, 50 first responders throughout Lucas county are in isolation or quarantine out of caution, after being exposed to the virus. That includes all firefighters, sheriff deputies and all police departments.
RELATED: Mayor Kapszukiewicz says there is no shortage of COVID-19 testing for first responders in Lucas Co.