New York City firefighters and support staff must mask up again. Is there a new COVID variant? Is this a political gimmick? It’s neither. In this instance, masking might be required as there’s been a spike in infectious diseases. There’s been an uptick in respiratory illnesses this winter, though it’s not unusual. Before everyone lost their minds during the COVID pandemic, flu/cold and other viral infections spiked during this period. It’s a seasonal occurrence (via NY Post):
The FDNY has ordered all firetruck and ambulance personnel to mask up while rendering patient care due to outbreaks of infectious diseases, The Post has learned.
The department-wide directive, issued Friday, comes amid an increase in COVID-19, flu and respiratory virus cases, officials said.
Effective immediately, all those who provide pre-hospital emergency treatment in NYC must wear a surgical mask, preferably an N95.
The FDNY last required masks during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, but relaxed the rule last February after state health officials stopped mandating masks and face coverings inside health care facilities.
The new order applies to firefighters, who are certified first-responders, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and volunteer ambulance staffers.
Yeah, but there’s one thing that could be spreading these viruses: the hordes of illegal aliens that have invaded the Big Apple. Illegal aliens carrying highly contagious viruses aren’t new. Measles was a prevalent infection that struck the legions of unvetted Afghan refugees we brought here when Joe Biden allowed Kabul to fall in 2021. And, as with anything under this current administration, this problem has been known for months. Take this USA Today op-ed from a medical professional from August of 2023 (via USA Today):
Migrants could be bringing infectious diseases across our southern border. When they are bussed to New York and elsewhere, these diseases go with them. A recent study showed that more than 4% percent of migrants from Central and South America to Europe were sick with Chagas' disease. It's contagious without the help of an animal or a blood-sucking bug and can cause serious complications, including heart failure.
Tuberculosis is on the rise in this country, as is syphilis and other sexually transmitted infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that immigration applicants with communicable diseases are inadmissible to the United States, but they can’t be stopped if they aren't routinely screened before entering the country, as is the case with undocumented migrants.
Neha Jaggi Sood, a spokesperson at the Division of Global Migration and Quarantine at the CDC, told me that though the CDC has comprehensive systems to track communicable diseases,” they do not “track diseases by immigration status.”
I know it’s a movie, but in Godfather Part II, a young Vito Corleone enters Ellis Island and is quarantined due to suspicions that he might have smallpox. That’s not the case here in 2024, where Democrats are letting everyone in, some of whom might infected with highly virulent diseases. That’s not our problem. AOC said as much when asked about this crisis engulfing New York City.
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