A_______________B________________C________________D_______________
A-3
SEATTLE FIRE DEPARTMENT
M E M O R A N D U M
No. 75-23
May 10, 2023
FR: Fire Chief Harold D. Scoggins
TO: The Fire Department
RE: UPDATE TO COVID-19 ISOLATION AND RETURN TO WORK PROTOCOLS, NOTIFICATIONS, AND POINT OF CARE COVID (POCCT) TESTING
The following information is an update to Department Memo 04-23.
The Federal Emergency for COVID-19 ended April 10, 2023. As a result, the presumption that COVID-19 is an Occupational Disease for Frontline Workers no longer applies.
Employees may still file Workers’ Compensation claims for COVID-19 contracted in the course of their employment and those claims will be considered under Standard Occupational Disease criteria. Non-presumptive claims for COVID-19 will continue to be considered under Standard Occupational Disease criteria, like that of exposures to Hepatitis.
Accordingly, the Seattle Fire Department will no longer ask members to report positive COVID-19 test results. Contact tracing and notification of potentially exposed members are also being discontinued.
As with other possible infectious diseases (e.g. cold, flu, etc.), members who develop COVID-like symptoms should utilize their sick leave and not report to work. Sick members should lay off in accordance with standard Non-Occupational Illness procedures.
If members suspect they have COVID-19, they are recommended to follow current Public Health – Seattle and King County (PHSKC) “COVID-19 Exposure Guidelines for Return to Work” regarding isolation and precautions for people with suspected COVID-19. To further minimize potential spread, members who have access to POCCT Antigen test kits should continue to isolate if testing positive up through day 10.
Members who aren’t sick but who are aware that they have been exposed to COVID-19 are still encouraged to monitor for symptoms and test on days 5 to 7 after exposure with a POCCT Antigen test to check for potential asymptomatic illness. POCCT test kits will continue to be available from Services, while the current inventory lasts, to encourage members to test at work.
The Department appreciates everyone’s diligence in continuing to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Questions should be directed to Resource Management Admin at SFD_RMAdmin@seattle.gov where they will be directed to the appropriate/knowledgeable representative.
This Memorandum may be destroyed December 31, 2023.
HDS:ch
Division Heads and Station Captains shall be responsible to see that each member reviews this document and will ensure that one hard copy is printed and posted for each company.
Memorandums and Dispatches are published on the “Info/Pubs” page on the SFD Hub site.
