As state officials announced some of the first steps to stabilize Alaska's stumbling economy Tuesday, they also announced another 14 new confirmed COVID-19 cases. That number includes a worker at BP Alaska's Prudhoe Bay oil field who tested positive for the infectious disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to Dr. Anne Zink, the state's chief medical officer. The new cases bring Alaska's total to 133. They include five new cases in Fairbanks, four in Juneau, two in Anchorage, two in Eagle River/Chugiak and the first confirmed case in Kenai. Two are older than 60, 10 between the ages of 30 and 59, and two between 19 and 29. Three Alaskans have died of the virus. Nine have been hospitalized, a slight increase from Monday. The state is trying to build its own epidemiological model that takes into account the unique way Alaskans move within such a large state to predict the virus's peak, Zink said during a press briefing Tuesday evening.  

VIDEO: N95 masks are ideally single-use, which contributes to the shortage felt by first responders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That's why one southern Colorado fire department sought out a way to extend the life of each mask. South Fork Fire Rescue in the San Luis Valley says it's developed a way to safely reuse a mask up to 10 times. "This UVC Chamber allows the use of an N95 to be extended to 10 times vs a single-use," said Captain Tyler Schmidt with SFFR in a Facebook post. "It doesn't cure the current shortage being experienced during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but it will help us stretch our masks a little longer until the factories can keep up with demand." Schmidt posted a video explaining how to build the UV light chamber and the department's calculations.  

A partnership between FEMA and New York City is aiming to bring aid to an overburdened FDNY EMS system that has received an "unprecedented" influx of calls due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Mayor Bill de Blasio, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro, NYC Emergency Management Commissioner Deanne Criswell and FEMA Region II Administrator Tom Van Essen announced the partnership, which will bring more than 250 ambulances and approximately 500 more EMTs to the city. "When I heard that this was actually a real thing, that people would come from around the country and help us out with ambulances, I almost didn't believe it — but, seeing is believing" said Nigro. "All I can say is thank you so much for the people of the city of New York," said Nigro, at Fort Totten in Queens — where EMTs from across the U.S. were gathered on Tuesday.  

The police and fire departments have gone full Star Wars on battling the coronavirus. Cops and firefighters are using electrostatic guns to disinfect cruisers, cells, fire apparatus and equipment. "It looks like something out of Star Wars," Police Chief Brian Clark said Tuesday, adding that the gun quickly and evenly coats a surface with a chlorine solution. The applicator gives a negative charge to the disinfecting solution as it exits the nozzle. It allows the sanitizer to wrap around and evenly coat all types of surfaces for a better cleaning job, Clark said. In addition, the surfaces that are already covered repel the spray, making the method extremely efficient. "It cleans more. It's more efficient and you don't have to touch the surface," Clark said.  

As lawmakers prepare a fourth round of stimulus relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a Michigan lawmaker plans to introduce a bill this week calling for a federal income tax holiday for doctors, nurses and first responders. Rep. Bill Huizenga, a Zeeland Republican, said the proposed tax holiday for three months is modeled after how the federal government excludes income taxes from members of the military serving on the front lines in combat zones. It's targeted at first responders like police, firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The holiday also would cover hospital staffers such as nurses, doctors, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners who work in a county with at least one case of COVID-19 or are providing direct services to COVID patients in a hospital. "If we're viewing this as sort of a war-like footing, then let's try to treat it that way," Huizenga said.  

VIDEO: A group of first responders in Palmdale expressed their appreciation to those on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic Monday night. The salute to doctors, nurses and medical staff at Palmdale Regional Medical Center took place around 7:30 p.m., coinciding with the setting sun, according to a post on the Palmdale sheriff's staton's Facebook page. Sheriff's deputies, as well as personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department and California Highway Patrol, took part in the salute. They parked their patrol cars and fire engines outside the hospital, located at 38600 Medical Center Drive, then turned their emergency lights on. Numerous first responder vehicles were lined up at the curb outside the facility, and many had their sirens turned on, video of the demonstration showed. The bright, flashing lights, as well as the many sirens blaring, caught the attention of the emergency room staff.