Alaska health officials are now calling the Fairbanks area the "hotspot" for coronavirus in Alaska. That's despite more total cases in Anchorage, where there's also been two deaths, and a higher percentage of cases in Ketchikan relative to that city's population. Alaska's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Anne Zink, explained at a Monday evening press conference that calling Fairbanks a hotspot is about more than just the numbers. That's based on things like the rate of infection among people who have not recently traveled or been in close contact with someone known to be infected, also known as community transmission, as well as where the disease is spreading in the city, Zink said. "We're looking at how many community cases we have, we're looking at cases in high vulnerable populations, such as long term care facilities, and we're looking at what sort of spread how many case contacts those people have," Zink said.  

The three largest public safety agencies in Franklin County will no longer release the number of personnel who have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the agencies said Monday. The Columbus Divisions of Fire and Police and the Franklin County sheriff's office all cited consultations with legal counsel. "It has been determined that the impact of COVID-19 on staffing numbers is considered part of our critical infrastructure, and therefore protected information," the sheriff's office said in a release. Representatives of the police and fire divisions echoed the sheriff's office stance. As of Sunday, the fire division had eight firefighters who had tested positive for the coronavirus. Of those, six were recovering at home, and two had returned to work after they were no longer considered contagious.  

If you go outside at sunset, listen in the distance and you may hear something you don't hear too often. Each night at dusk, bagpipes and drums will echo through neighborhoods across the country. "You should listen at sunset -- there are pipers and drummers all across the area," Thomas Johnson, a captain with Aurora Fire Department told FOX31. The movement is called "Sunset Solidarity" and encourages Scottish drummers and bagpipers to play outside their homes at sundown. "The pipes have a centuries-long tradition of inspiring courage and resolve to people in times of distress," Johnson said. Johnson is a piper with the Colorado Emerald Society. The band is made up of first responders from 24 police and fire agencies across Colorado. Their primary mission is playing at line-of-duty death funerals for police and firefighters.  

Sometimes miracles happen because every little thing goes right. And people involved are smart and creative and fearless. This is the story of a hairstylist, a team of automotive prototype designers and a massive global company that in just a few days went from creating high-tech cars guided by artificial intelligence with the use of robots to old-fashioned built-by-hand assembly the way things were done back in the 1900s. It sounds like a Hollywood movie script. It was, in fact, real life in Detroit in the time of the novel coronavirus. Ford Motor executives issued a call to action March 19, after receiving an alert from the Mayo Clinic. Ford immediately assembled a task force to address the personal protective equipment shortage.  

In a joint letter, members of Staten Island's political delegation today called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio to work with relevant pension boards to ensure that first responders and other essential employees who die as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) be guaranteed contractual line-of-duty death benefit and payments. "There cannot be any uncertainty about death benefits as we are sending our first responders and essential workers into potential danger," said Councilman Joe Borelli (R-South Shore). "We must at least take this stress off their shoulders." The letter, signed by Borelli, Borough President James Oddo (R), Minority Leader Steven Matteo (R-Mid Island), and others, comes as the FDNY reported the busiest five days for the EMS in its history last week. The coronavirus has also deeply affected the NYPD, which has 930 employees who tested positive as of Monday.  

After the recent signing of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act by President Donald J. Trump, International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) President, Fire Chief Gary Ludwig, expressed mixed emotions about the stimulus package. "While I am pleased that Congress and the President took action to help those who are suffering economically by allocating federal money for hospitals, law enforcement, educational institutions, airlines, and drug companies, I am extremely disappointed that federal funding desperately needed by the American fire and emergency medical services was largely overlooked," Chief Ludwig said. Law enforcement agencies, by comparison, received $850 million in the stimulus bill versus only $100 million for the fire service.